''Vittina turrita'' is a
species of aquatic
snail, a
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 in the
family Neritidae.
[MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Vittina turrita (Gmelin, 1791). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=818777 on 2021-09-28]
Distribution
''Vittina turrita'' is
Indo-Pacific
The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth.
In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...
in distribution, with specimens recorded from locations including Madagascar, Papua New Guinea, the Pacific Islands, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Japan.
Description
Native to
brackish tidal waters such as
mangrove swamps, this snail is also classified as Vittina turrita, and is sold in the freshwater aquarium trade under the common name "tiger nerite" or "tiger snail." Adults may thrive in fresh water with sufficient dissolved minerals. The species has separate male and female individuals; females lay eggs, which hatch into larvae that can survive only in brackish water. Adults grow to about 2.5 cm, and show a pale tan body with a darker tan shell, sometimes brownish or reddish, marked by black bands of varied width. The head has two short antennae which protrude from beneath the shell, each with a small eye at the base (generally invisible beneath the shell). Nerites are slow-moving snails that travel over rocks or hard substrates and do not burrow. Like other members of its genus, the species grazes on algae which it rasps from surfaces with its
radula
The radula (, ; plural radulae or radulas) is an anatomical structure used by molluscs for feeding, sometimes compared to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food ...
. It may opportunistically feed on other debris, but does not pursue animal food.
Because a variety of common names including "zebra nerite" can be used to refer to both species, it is sometimes confused with
Neritina natalensis.
Human use
''Vittina turrita'' is common in the
pet trade for
freshwater aquaria. It is considered a desirable snail for home aquarists because of its attractive pattern, compatible requirements with common freshwater aquarium fish, and the fact that it consumes algae without eating plants or overpopulating in home freshwater tanks.
[Ng, T. H., Tan, S. K., Wong, W. H., Meier, R., Chan, S. Y., Tan, H. H., & Yeo, D. C. (2016). "Molluscs for sale: assessment of freshwater gastropods and bivalves in the ornamental pet trade". ''PLoS ONE'' 11(8): e0161130. ]
References
* Eichhorst T.E. (2016). Neritidae of the world. Volume 2. Harxheim: Conchbooks. Pp. 696-1366.
External links
Gmelin J.F. (1791). Vermes. In: Gmelin J.F. (Ed.) Caroli a Linnaei Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, Ed. 13. Tome 1(6). G.E. Beer, LipsiaeFukumori, H.; Kano, Y. (2013). Evolutionary ecology of settlement size in planktotrophic neritimorph gastropods. Marine Biology. 161(1): 213-227
Neritidae
Taxa named by Johann Friedrich Gmelin
{{Neritidae-stub