Neritina turrita
| Neritina turrita | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Neritina turrita |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Neritina turrita | ||||||||||||
| ( JF Gmelin , 1791) |
Neritina turrita is a freshwater and brackish water snail from the family of the barn snails (Neritidae), which belongs to the order of the Neritomorpha . It iswidespreadat the estuaries of the coasts and islands of the Indo-Pacific . Itispopularwith aquarists under the name of the zebra snail .
features
The elongated, conical shell of Neritina turrita , which in adult snails can reach a height of up to 32 mm and a diameter of 18 to 27 mm, has weak growth stripes and can have fine spiral stripes. The thread with its up to four and a half turns stands out very much, takes up about a third to three fifths of the total length and is mostly eroded at the tip. The slightly concave passages are flattened towards the top. The seam is not deep and descends very crookedly. The case mouth is slightly crooked and bluish white inside. The lower muscular bar is weak, almost straight and half hidden in the front view. The outer edge is slightly S-shaped at the top or almost straight and arched at the bottom, the lower edge ascending. The columellar surface is slightly arched, irregularly traversed by a few furrows, yellowish white, turns into pale orange towards the rear and only slightly wider at the bottom than at the top, with a clear borderline that bends forward in the lower third and becomes angular towards the lower edge . The edge of the columella has a clear indentation in the middle, in which and above it sit some blunt teeth, which are weaker above and protrude below with a common swelling.
The more or less shiny surface of the housing has a brownish-yellow to green-yellow shell skin . On the greenish yellow to reddish yellowish brown base color, it is marked with wide, crooked black stripes or rows of spots. According to the case drawing, different varieties are distinguished.
The operculum is pale yellowish to pale flesh-colored on the outside, whitish at the core and dark red at the edge. The inside is more vivid flesh-colored. The slightly darker flesh-colored cone is simple and blunt. The compressed rib has weak longitudinal furrows and ends at the free end in a bent hook. The inner edge has a clear protrusion that appears as a slight rib on the inside.
Geographical distribution and habitat
Neritina pulligera is widespread in the estuaries of the coasts and islands of the Indo-Pacific , so in Southeast Asia with Indonesia , Malaysia and New Guinea , in the Philippines , Taiwan , the Solomon Islands , Fiji , Samoa and in French Polynesia .
The snails live on mud and wood in the brackish water of the estuaries on the coast.
Way of life
Neritina turrita , like all sea snails, is of separate sex. The male mates with the female with his penis . The female attaches about 20 to 30 egg capsules, each containing about 50 eggs, to stones and roots per clutch. From this first free-swimming Veliger larvae hatch. These are drifted into seawater, where they feed on plankton as zooplankton . The larvae can only survive for a short time in fresh water. Shortly before the metamorphosis , the Veliger larvae return to brackish water areas. After the metamorphosis, the finished snails migrate up the rivers. The development of the snail is therefore tied to the coastal area.
The snail feeds on algae growth on aquatic plants, wood and other substrates.
use
Neritina turrita is popular in the aquarium hobby because of its colorful housing and is used to keep aquariums and water plants free from algae growth. A number of similar barge snails are used in a similar manner, and because of their shell design, they are also called zebra snails . Neritina turrita can live up to 15 years. In the aquarium, the housings reach a diameter of 2.5 cm. The most favorable temperature of the aquarium is 22 to 28 ° C. As with other barge snails and most of the snails with free-swimming Veliger larvae, breeding has not yet been successful because the larvae living in salt water have failed to properly nourish them. All snails in aquariums are caught in the wild .
literature
- Eduard von Martens : The genus Neritina. Systematic Conchylia Cabinet. Nuremberg, 1879. pp. 105ff. No. 60. Neritina turrita Chemn .
- Ferdinand Starmühlner (1993): Results of the Austrian Tonga-Samoa Expedition 1985 of the Institute for Zoology at the University of Vienna (PDF; 27.6 MB) . Contributions to the knowledge of the freshwater and brackish water gastropods of the Tonga and Samoa Islands (SW Pacific). Annals of the Natural History Museum in Vienna 94/95 B, pp. 217–306.
annotation
- ↑ Not to be confused with Vittina coromandeliana , also known as the zebra snail , which also lives in Southeast Asia. Another species popular with aquarists is the Neritina natalensis found in East Africa . Hence the scientific name is preferred.
Web links
- Home biotope: racing snails , swimming snails, barnacles or mermaid snails (Neritidae) : Neritina turrita (GMELIN 1791)
- Wirbellose.de: Neritina turrita - zebra racing snail, orange track