Despite the species resemblance to planispiral planorbid snails it is nonetheless an ampullariid. Its large size, distinct spiral bands and the presence of an operculum distinguish this species from planorbid snails such as Planorbella duryi and Planorbis corneus.
Marisa cornuarietis (Linnaeus, 1858)
Common name: Giant ramshorn snail; Columbian ramshorn snail
Class Gastropoda
Infraclass Caenogastropoda
Informal group Architaenioglossa
Order Ampullarida
Superfamily Ampullarioidea
Family Ampullariidae
Genus Marisa Gray,1824 (Type species: Helix cornuarietis Linnaeus, 1758) (Synonym Ceratodes Guilding, 1828)
Original name: Helix Cornuarietis Linnaeus, 1758. In Linnaeus,C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera,species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Edito decimal, reformata. Tomus 1. Laurentii Salvii, Holmiae [=Stockholm], i-iv, 1-824pp.
Type locality: European Seas (error, probably Venezula).
On sediment and weeds etc. Lays pink coloured gelatinous egg masses on plants etc. below the waterline. Omnivorous and potentially a pest of aquatic crops.
Introduced from South America into the United States. Found in aquarium shops in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.
This species is not established in Australia. However, it is commonly found in the aquarium trade and is a potentially capable of becoming established.
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Cowie, R. H. & Hayes, K. A. (2019). Ampullariidae Gray, 1824. Pp. 37-42 in C. Lydeard & Cummings, K. S. Freshwater Mollusks of the World: a Distribution Atlas. Baltimore, John Hopkins University Press.
Cowie, R. H. & Thiengo, S. C. (2003). The Apple Snails of the Americas (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Ampullariidae: Asolene, Felipponea, Marisa, Pomacea, Pomella): A nomenclatural and type catalogue. Malacologia 45: 41-100.
Ferguson, F. F., & Palmer, J. R. (1958). Biological notes on Marisa cornuarietis, a predator of Australorbis glabratus, the snail intermediate host of schistosomiasis in Puerto Rico. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 7(6), 640-642.
Horne, F. R., Arsuffi, T. L., & Neck, R. W. (1992). Recent introduction and potential botanical impact of the giant rams-horn snail, Marisa cornuarietis (Pilidae), in the Comal Springs ecosystem of central Texas. The Southwestern Naturalist, 37(2), 194-196.
Ng, T.H., Tan, S.K., Wong, W.H., Meier, R., Chan, S-Y., Tan, H.H. and Yeo, D.C.J. 2016. Molluscs for Sale: Assessment of Freshwater Gastropods and Bivalves in the Ornamental Pet Trade. PLOS One. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0161130.
Perera, G. & Walls, J. G. (1996). Apple snails in the aquarium. T.F.H. Publications, Inc., Neptune City, New Jersey.
Simone, L. R. L., 2004. Comparative morphology and phylogeny of representatives of the superfamilies of architaenioglossans and the Annulariidae (Mollusca, Caenogastropoda). Arquivos do Museu National 62: 387-504.
