Giant tower snail
| Giant tower snail | ||||||||||||
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Giant tower snail ( Brotia herculea ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Brotia herculea | ||||||||||||
| ( Gould , 1846) |
The giant tower snail ( Brotia herculea ) is a separate-sex freshwater snail from the superfamily of the Cerithioidea . It can reach a housing length of up to 10 cm.
features
The housing is highly conical with up to 12 turns. It is large to very large (up to 10 cm high, 3 cm wide), the shell is relatively thick. The end of the housing is usually whitish and porous. The basic color of the case is yellow to light brown, the surface has spiral stripes and cross ribs. The base is light gray to brown with an oval operculum . It has 4 to 6 turns around the centrally located nucleolus and fits pretty well into the mouth. The radula can be up to 3 cm long with about 180 transverse rows of teeth (7 teeth per transverse row). The color of the body varies from dark gray to black, the foot is usually a little lighter. The sole has light spots.
distribution
The natural range of the species are the river systems of the Irrawaddy , Chindwin , the Saluen (with the Mae Nam Moei ), and the Mae Nam Chao Phraya (with the rivers Mae Nam Ping and Mae Nam Nan ) in Myanmar and in northwestern Thailand . The giant tower snail is a popular aquarium animal today.
Occurrence
The species prefers clear water and lives on stony, sandy or muddy soils and roots as well as under leaves in the water. It lives on rotting plant material and detritus .
Systematics
In addition to the valid species name Brotia herculea, there are a number of invalid synonyms . It is the largest species in the genus.
Aquaristics
These animals prefer fine gravel or sand as a substrate in order to be able to move around better. The animals need water temperatures of 22 to 28 ° C and clean aquarium water. During the day they look for something to eat on the aquarium floor.
Web links
- Brotia herculea in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2013. Posted by: Koehler, F. & Simonis, J., 2012. Accessed February 14, 2014.