Pomacea bridgesii
| Pomacea bridgesii | |
|---|---|
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| Pomacea bridgesii in aquarium | |
| Conservation status | |
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NE[1]
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Caenogastropoda informal group Architaenioglossa |
| Superfamily: | Ampullarioidea |
| Family: | Ampullariidae |
| Genus: | Pomacea |
| Subgenus: | Pomacea |
| Species: | P. bridgesii |
| Binomial name | |
| Pomacea bridgesii (Reeve, 1856) |
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- See also: Pomacea diffusa, formerly known as Pomacea bridgesii.
Pomacea bridgesii, common names the spike-topped apple snail or mystery snail, is a South American species of freshwater snail with gills and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Ampullariidae.
Subspecies
- Pomacea bridgesii bridgesii (Reeve, 1856)
- Pomacea bridgesii diffusa (Blume, 1957)
Anatomy
Mystery snails possess structurally complex eyes at the tip of a cephalic eyestalk. These snails possess the ability to regenerate the eye completely after amputation through the mid-eyestalk. They are born with both gills and lungs. [2]
Distribution
The native distribution of this snail is Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Peru.
Non-indigenous distribution
This species is non-indigenous in Hawaii since 1960 (Pomacea bridgesii diffusa), southeast Asia since 1980s, and Florida since the early 1980s (Pomacea bridgesii diffusa).[3]
Offspring
Mystery snails lay their eggs above the water line. The eggs take 2–4 weeks to hatch. The snails can have as many as two-hundred offspring from one egg-laying event.
Human relevance
This species is often kept as an aquarium pet, because of its wide range of shell colors, lack of appetite for live plants, and ease of care.
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