Achatina achatina

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Achatina achatina
Giant tiger land snail (Achatina achatina) Ghana.jpg
Kakum National Park, Ghana
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Stylommatophora
Suborder: Achatinina
Superfamily: Achatinoidea
Family: Achatinidae
Genus: Achatina
Species:
A. achatina
Binomial name
Achatina achatina
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
  • Achatina (Achatina) achatina(Linnaeus, 1758) · alternate representation
  • Achatina amphoraH. Beck, 1837 (junior synonym)
  • Achatina perdixLamarck, 1822 (junior synonym)
  • Achatina variegataLamarck, 1801 (junior synonym)
  • Ampulla bombardaRöding, 1798 (junior synonym)
  • Ampulla flammeaRöding, 1798 (junior synonym)
  • Ampulla lacteaeRöding, 1798 (junior synonym)
  • Buccinum achatinum(Linnaeus, 1758) superseded combination
  • Bulla achatinaLinnaeus, 1758 (original combination)

Achatina achatina, commonly known as the giant African snail, also known as the giant tiger land snail is a species of large, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Achatinidae. The name "Achatina" is from "achates", Greek for agate. [1] It shares the common name "giant African snail" with other species of snails such as Lissachatina fulica and Archachatina marginata .

Contents

Subspecies

Distribution

The species is believed to be native to West Africa, within 160 kilometres (99 miles) to 300 kilometres (190 miles) of the coasts off Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Togo, Benin, Ghana, and Nigeria.

Achatina achatina is routinely confiscated by quarantine authorities at United States airports, especially in Baltimore, Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, and San Francisco. [2] These large snails are kept as pets in the Western world, where owners prize their large size, distinctive markings, and rarity. [3]

It has been suggested that these species be given top national quarantine significance in the United States. [4]

Description

A snail crawling across grass Achatina achatina.jpg
A snail crawling across grass

The shells of these snails often grow to a length of 18 centimetres (7.1 in) with a diameter of 9 centimetres (3.5 in). Certain examples have been surveyed in the wild at 30×15 cm, making them the largest extant land snail species known. [5] [6]

Similar to other giant land snails such as L. fulica, A. achatina are herbivores. Their diets consist of many plants such as nuts, flowers, fruit, stems, and leaves. Achatina achatina have also been known to eat farmers' crops including cocoa, peanuts, bananas, and cauliflower. [7]

In other instances, the giant African land snail has been known to eat smaller invertebrates in order to reach their desired calcium and protein intake needed for survival. Such insects include ants, small worms, beetles, and smaller snails.

Ecology

Snails collected in Ghana for food Ghana snail.jpg
Snails collected in Ghana for food

Like almost all pulmonate gastropods, these snails are hermaphrodites, having male and female sex organs. Each snail lays up to 1200 eggs per year. Achatina achatina is an important source of animal protein for West African forest-dwelling ethnic groups, and there is potential for commercial farming. [8]

This species' substantial size and potential for rapid population growth can make the snail a serious pest when introduced to non-native ecosystems. The population size of this species can be curtailed through disease caused by the bacterium Aeromonas hydrophila [9] but it often has no other natural enemies. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snail</span> Shelled gastropod

A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name snail is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have a coiled shell that is large enough for the animal to retract completely into. When the word "snail" is used in this most general sense, it includes not just land snails but also numerous species of sea snails and freshwater snails. Gastropods that naturally lack a shell, or have only an internal shell, are mostly called slugs, and land snails that have only a very small shell are often called semi-slugs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple snail</span> Family of gastropods

Ampullariidae, whose members are commonly known as apple snails, is a family of large freshwater snails that includes the mystery snail species. They are aquatic gastropod mollusks with a gill and an operculum. These snails simultaneously have a gill and a lung as functional respiratory structures, which are separated by a division of the mantle cavity. This adaptation allows these animals to be amphibious. Species in this family are considered gonochoristic, meaning that each individual organism is either male or female.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Achatinidae</span> Family of gastropods

Achatinidae is a family of medium to large sized tropical land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks from Africa.

<i>Lissachatina fulica</i> Species of land snail

Lissachatina fulica is a species of large land snail that belongs in the subfamily Achatininae of the family Achatinidae. It is also known as the Giant African land snail. It shares the common name "giant African snail" with other species of snails such as Achatina achatina and Archachatina marginata. This snail species has been considered a significant cause of pest issues around the world. It is a federally prohibited species in the USA, as it is illegal to sell or possess. Internationally, it is the most frequently occurring invasive species of snail.

<i>Coenobita perlatus</i> Species of crustacean

Coenobita perlatus is a species of terrestrial hermit crab. It is known as the strawberry hermit crab because of its reddish-orange colours. It is a widespread scavenger across the Indo-Pacific, and wild-caught specimens are traded to hobby aquarists.

Giant African land snail is the common name of several species within the family Achatinidae, a family of unusually large African terrestrial snails:

<i>Euglandina rosea</i> Species of gastropod

Euglandina rosea, the rosy wolfsnail or cannibal snail, is a species of medium-sized to large predatory air-breathing land snail, a carnivorous terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Spiraxidae.

Achatina vignoniana is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Achatinidae, the giant African snails.

<i>Achatina</i> Genus of gastropods

Achatina is a genus of medium-sized to very large, air-breathing, tropical land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Achatinidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Land snail</span> Common name for many species of 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. However, it is not always easy to say which species are terrestrial, because some are more or less amphibious between land and fresh water, and others are relatively amphibious between land and salt water.

<i>Euglandina</i> Genus of gastropods

Euglandina is a genus of predatory medium- to large-sized, air-breathing, land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Spiraxidae.

William Henry Benson was a civil servant in British India and a pioneer malacologist. He made large collections of molluscs and described over 470 species, mainly from India, Sri Lanka, Burma and South Africa.

<i>Archachatina marginata</i> Species of gastropod

The giant West African snail or banana rasp snail is a species of air-breathing tropical land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Achatinidae. They can grow up to 20 centimetres (8 in) long, and live up to 10 years or more.

<i>Lissachatina immaculata</i> Species of gastropod

Lissachatina immaculata is a species of very large, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Achatinidae.

<i>Lissachatina reticulata</i> Species of snail

Lissachatina reticulata is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Achatinidae, the giant African snails.

<i>Achatina craveni</i> Species of gastropod

Achatina craveni is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Achatinidae, the giant African snails.

<i>Achatina tincta</i> Species of gastropod

Achatina tincta is a species of large air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Achatinidae, the giant African snails.

<i>Lissachatina glutinosa</i> Species of gastropod

Lissachatina glutinosa, common name the African land snail, is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Achatinidae, the giant African snails.

<i>Lissachatina</i> Genus of land snails

Lissachatina is a genus of air-breathing tropical land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Achatininae of the family Achatinidae.

References

  1. ↑ "arnobrosi.com". arnobrosi.com. Archived from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  2. ↑ "Achatina achatina" (PDF). USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2010.
  3. ↑ "Achatina achatina". PetSnails.co.uk. 2005. Archived from the original on 13 November 2007. Retrieved 7 November 2007.
  4. ↑ Cowie, R. H.; Dillon, R. T.; Robinson, D. G.; Smith, J. W. (2009). "Alien non-marine snails and slugs of priority quarantine importance in the United States: A preliminary risk assessment" (PDF). American Malacological Bulletin. 27 (1–2): 113–132. doi:10.4003/006.027.0210. S2CID   54919881. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2016.
  5. ↑ Woodward, Samuel Peckworth (1868). Manual of the Mollusca: A Treatise on Recent and Fossil Shells. Virtue& Company. p.  97.
  6. ↑ Institute for Scientific Co-operation (1988). Animal Research and Development. Institute for Scientific Co-operation. p. 68. ISSN   0340-3165. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016.
  7. ↑ "Giant African Land Snail - Snail Facts and Information" . Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  8. ↑ Hodasi, J. K. M. (1979). "LIFE-HISTORY STUDIES OF ACHATINA (ACHATINA) ACHATINA (LINNÉ)". Journal of Molluscan Studies. 45 (3): 328–339. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012.
  9. ↑ Dean, W. W.; Mead, A. R.; Northey, W. T. (1970). "Aeromonas liquefaciens in the giant African snail, Achatina fulica". Journal of Invertebrate Pathology. 16 (3). Elsevier: 346–351. doi:10.1016/0022-2011(70)90150-3. PMID   5501200.
  10. ↑ Institut für Wissenschaftliche Zusammenarbeit mit Hochschulen der Entwicklungsländer (Tübingen, Germany) (1988). Animal Research and Development. Vol. 27–31. Institute for Scientific Co-operation. p. 70. ISSN   0340-3165. LCCN   76647555. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Snippet of page 70 Archived 22 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine
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