Sunday 19 May
Maputaland cannibal snail (Natalina wesseliana)
Maputaland cannibal snail fact file
- Description
- Biology
- Range
- Habitat
- Status
- Threats
- Conservation
- Find out more
- Glossary
- References
- Print factsheet
Maputaland cannibal snail description
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Mollusca |
| Class | Gastropoda |
| Order | Stylommatophora |
| Family | Rhytididae |
| Genus | Natalina (1) |
Named for their snail-eating habits (2) (3), cannibal snails (Rhytididae) feed using a rasping tongue-like structure known as a radula, which bears long, curved teeth, a specialisation for their carnivorous diet (4). The orange-brown body of the Maputaland cannibal snail is large and broad, and carries a thin brown shell with rapidly expanding whorls and a large opening (2).
- Also known as
- Tongaland cannibal snail.
- Size
- Shell diameter: up to 70 mm (2)
- Herbert, D.G. & Kilburn, R.N. (2004) Field guide to the land snails and slugs of eastern South Africa. 340pp. Natal Museum, Pietermaritzburg.
- Carnivore
- Flesh-eating.
- Radula
- A flexible tongue-like organ in certain molluscs that has rows of horny teeth on the surface and is used to rasp at food.
- Whorls
- In molluscs,the spiral coils of the shell of a snail.
- IUCN Red List (February, 2006)
http://www.redlist.org - Inland Invertebrate Initiative: Database of Threatened Invertebrates of South Africa (July, 2006)
http://www.ukzn.ac.za/redlist/detail_page.asp?id=75 - The Trail of the Snail (July, 2006)
http://arnobrosi.tripod.com/Rhytidacea.html - Discover Life (July, 2006)
http://pick5.pick.uga.edu/mp/20q?search=Rhytididae&guide=Groups_Mollusca - Herbert, D. (2006) Pers. comm.
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Related species
Maputaland cannibal snail biology
Very little has been documented on this snail’s biology and behaviour, which remain poorly understood. Like other cannibal snails, this species is carnivorous, feeding on other molluscs and probably also earthworms (2) (4).
TopMaputaland cannibal snail range
Ranges from central Zululand north to Maputo in southern Mozambique, primarily near the coast (2).
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Species with a similar range
Maputaland cannibal snail habitat
This species is known from dune, coastal lowland and scarp forest, but probably also occurs in other wooded habitats (2).
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Species found in a similar habitat
Maputaland cannibal snail status
Classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List 2006 (1).
Maputaland cannibal snail threats
The Maputaland cannibal is threatened by ongoing habitat loss and degradation as a result of conversion to agricultural land, wood plantations and mining (2), as well as ever increasing pressure from local communities on the few remaining pristine habitats (5).
TopMaputaland cannibal snail conservation
There are currently no conservation measures specifically targeting this species, although it is known to occur in conservation areas (Hluhluwe-Imfolosi Game Reserve and the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park) (5).
|
View information on this species at the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre. |
Find out more
For more information on the Maputaland cannibal snail see:
Authentication
Authenticated (13/07/2006) by Dr. Dai G. Herbert, Chief Curator: Mollusca, Natal Museum, and member of the IUCN/SSC Southern African Invertebrate, and Mollusc Specialist Groups.
http://www.nmsa.org.za/
Glossary
References
More »Related species
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Image credit
Maputaland cannibal snail
© Dai Herbert / Natal Museum
Dai Herbert, Natal Museum
dherbert@nmsa.org.za
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