''Lissachatina reticulata'' is a
species of air-breathing
land snail
A land snail is any of the numerous species of snail that live on land, as opposed to the sea snails and freshwater snails. ''Land snail'' is the common name for terrestrial gastropod mollusks that have shells (those without shells are known as ...
, a
terrestrial pulmonate
Pulmonata or pulmonates, is an informal group (previously an order, and before that a subclass) of snails and slugs characterized by the ability to breathe air, by virtue of having a pallial lung instead of a gill, or gills. The group includ ...
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 ...
mollusc
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 esti ...
in the family
Achatinidae, the giant African snails.
[MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Lissachatina reticulata (L. Pfeiffer, 1845). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1375087 on 2021-06-15]
Description
Adults are large (shell roughly 15cm long by 7cm wide, body up to 20cm) with a distinct reticulated (ridged) shell that is the species' namesake. Shell colouring varies with brown, orange, and yellow streaks and tends to occur in roughly vertical banding. There is also dark speckling present, more visible in the lighter streaks. The flesh can be a soft brown with a dark head, or a slightly translucent milky yellow in albino individuals.
Diet
They eat leaves, fruits and vegetables, faeces and occasionally dead animals or insects.
Reproduction
This species is hermaphroditic, and individuals possess both male and female sex organs but cannot self fertilise. They are not known to hybridize with other snail species. It produces eggs with a diameter of 9mm in clutches of up to around 350 eggs when in ideal conditions, and can store sperm from partners for many years, producing multiple batches of viable eggs from one mating. They can live up to 10 years, but on average survive 6-7 years.
Social behaviour
They are not observed to be obligatorily social animals but will gather to rest and mate, and are not actively aggressive to other individuals. Adults may pose a danger to hatchlings by walking over them or knocking them off surfaces in captivity, and smaller snails may rasp on larger ones shells for calcium, weakening and discolouring the others' shell over time.
History
It was originally described as Achatina reticulata, reclassified as Achatina (lissachatina) reticulata, and recently placed in the genus Lissachatina.
Habitat
The native distribution of ''Lissachatina reticulata'' includes the coastal region of
Zanzibar. The species is also present in other countries such as Nigeria, as a moderate invasive species brought to the area by human interaction.
The recommended captivity temperature is 23-27 Celsius, and they are active in 70-80% humidity.
References
External links
Fontanilla I.K.C. (2010). Achatina (Lissachatina) fulica Bowdich: its molecular phylogeny, genetic variation in global populations, and its possible role in the spread of the rat lungworm Angiostrongylus cantonensis (Chen). PhD thesis, University of Nottingham. 634 ppShell Morphology, Radula and Genital Structures of New Invasive Giant African Land Snail Species, Achatina fulica Bowdich, 1822, Achatina albopicta E.A. Smith (1878) and Achatina reticulata Pfeiffer, 1845 (Gastropoda:Achatinidae) in Southwest Nigeria
Achatinidae
Gastropods described in 1845
Taxa named by Ludwig Karl Georg Pfeiffer
{{Achatinidae-stub