''Clithon spinosum'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

brackish water Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estua ...

and

freshwater snail Freshwater snails are gastropod mollusks which live in fresh water. There are many different families. They are found throughout the world in various habitats, ranging from ephemeral pools to the largest lakes, and from small seeps and springs ...

with an operculum, a

nerite Neritidae, common name the nerites, is a taxonomic family of small to medium-sized saltwater and freshwater snails which have a gill and a distinctive operculum. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Neritininae Poey, 1852. Accessed through: ...

. It is an aquatic

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

in the family

Neritidae Neritidae, common name the nerites, is a taxonomic family of small to medium-sized saltwater and freshwater snails which have a gill and a distinctive operculum. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Neritininae Poey, 1852. Accessed through: ...

, the nerites.

Distribution

Distribution of ''Clithon spinosum'' include Indo-Pacific and it ranges from New Guinea and south-eastern Asia and eastern Asia to

Marquesas The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in t ...

. It also occurs in Japan,

New Georgia New Georgia, with an area of , is the largest of the islands in Western Province, Solomon Islands, and the 200th-largest island in the world. Geography New Georgia island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most of ...

,Haynes A. (1990). "The numbers of freshwater gastropods on Pacific islands and the theory of island biogeography". ''Malacologia'' 31
237
248. Fiji and Tahiti and in

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...

including the following

Society Islands The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the F ...

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

Mo'orea Moorea ( or ; Tahitian: ), also spelled Moorea, is a volcanic island in French Polynesia. It is one of the Windward Islands, a group that is part of the Society Islands, northwest of Tahiti. The name comes from the Tahitian word , meaning " ...

Raiatea Raiatea or Ra'iatea ( Tahitian: ''Ra‘iātea'') is the second largest of the Society Islands, after Tahiti, in French Polynesia. The island is widely regarded as the "centre" of the eastern islands in ancient Polynesia and it is likely that the ...

Huahine Huahine is an island located among the Society Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Leeward Islands group ''(Îles sous le Vent).'' At the 2017 census it had a population of 6,075. ...

.Myers M. J., Meyer C. P. & Resh V. H. (2000). "Neritid and thiarid gastropods from French Polynesian streams: how reproduction (sexual, parthenogenetic) and dispersal (active, passive) affect population structure". '' Freshwater Biology'' 44(3): 535–545. .

Description

There are always spines on its

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard ou ...

.Haynes A. (1988). "Notes on the stream neritids (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia) of Oceania". ''Micronesica'' 21: 93–102
PDF
Spines are long and thin and they are directed rearward. The width of the shell is 15–20 mm.Tryon G. W. (1888–1889) ''

Manual of Conchology George Washington Tryon Jr. (20 May 1838 – 5 February 1888) was an American malacologist who worked at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. Biography George Washington Tryon was the son of Edward K. Tryon and Adeline Savidt. ...

, structural and systematic, with illustrations of the species''. Volume 10, 322 pp., 69 plates
page 63plate 23
figure 6–7.

Ecology

''Clithon spinosum'' is a

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

(it has two separate sexes) and

amphidromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousan ...

snail. Adults live in freshwater and larvae are marine. Larvae are long-lived planktotrophs. Adults prefer boulders and cobbles over granules as a substrate.Blanco J. F. & Scatena F. N. (2007). "The spatial arrangement of ''Neritina virginea'' (Gastropoda: Neritidae) during upstream migration in a split‐channel reach". ''River Research and Applications'' 23(3): 235–245
PDF
They were found mainly on bottom of rocks in aquaria and in situ. They are reported from altitude 0–10 m a.s.l.Liu H. T. T. & Resh V. H. (1997). "Abundance and microdistribution of freshwater gastropods in three streams of Moorea, French Polynesia". ''International Journal of Limnology'' 33(4): 235–244. . They can reach densities up to 57.0 ± 17.3 snails per square meter of a stream. Adults can survive 8 hours in seawater (longer exposure was not tested). It is not used as food source by humans.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q28431717 Neritidae Gastropods described in 1825 Taxa named by George Brettingham Sowerby I