Malaysian trumpet snail | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Gastropoda |
(unranked): | clade Caenogastropoda clade Sorbeoconcha |
Superfamily: | Cerithioidea |
Family: | Thiaridae |
Genus: | Melanoides |
Species: | M. tuberculata |
Binomial name | |
Melanoides tuberculata (O. F. Müller, 1774) |
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Synonyms | |
Nerita tuberculata |
Nerita tuberculata
Melanoides tuberculatus (O. F. Müller, 1774)
The red-rimmed melania, scientific name Melanoides tuberculata, is a species of freshwater snail with an operculum, a parthenogenetic, aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Thiaridae.
The common name comes from the presence of reddish spots on the otherwise greenish-brown shell.
The species name is sometimes spelled Melanoides tuberculatus, but this is incorrect because Melanoides Olivier, 1804 was clearly intended to be feminine because it was combined with the feminine specific epithet fasciolata in the original description.
This species is native to northern Africa and southern Asia, but it has been accidentally introduced in many other tropical and subtropical areas worldwide. It has also been accidentally introduced to heated aquaria in colder parts of the world.
This species has an elongate, conical shell, which is usually light brown, marked with rust-colored spots. An operculum is present.
The average shell length is about 20–27 mm or 30–36 mm, but exceptional specimens may be up to 80 mm long. Shells of this species have 10–15 whorls.
This species is native to subtropical and tropical northern Africa and southern Asia.
Prehistoric localities include Gobero in Niger in 6200–5200 BCE.
This species can also be found in artificially-heated indoor habitats, such as aquaria in greenhouses, and similar biotopes: