Achatina fulica

Large agate snail

The Great agate snail ( Achatina fulica ), also known as East African giant snail, one of the African giant snails, a family of terrestrial gastropods. With a body length of up to 20 cm and a length of up to 30 cm, it is one of the largest land snails in the world.

Features

The case is in the base color brown to horn-colored and bears numerous stripes that mark the growth lines. However, Achatina fulica is the Achatschneckenart whose housing color can vary the most. So are both striped, spotted, and dark brown and almost black in front of houses. In Achatinidae forums five to seven color variants are described. The housing shape is conical, rechtsgewunden generally and pointed. The average length of the housing as measured from the apex to the housing opening, is between 10 and 12 cm, but it could also specimens with a body length of up to 20 cm are found. At a barrel length of 12 cm, the housing has a diameter of approximately 5 cm. The soft body is light to dark brown and has a darker dorsal stripe on.

Dissemination

The Great agate snail is originally in East Africa ( Kenya and Tanzania) and Madagascar home. However, it was introduced in many parts of Asia and on islands of the Indian and Pacific Ocean. With us, it is often kept in captivity in the U.S., the terrarium itself is prohibited, since the freed or escaped animals rapidly spread everywhere and could be a nuisance for gardeners and farmers. The Great Agate Snail thus constitutes a threat to the traditional ecosystems and is counted for this reason in the Global Invasive Species Database harmful invasive alien species to the hundred world. The worm is found in nature as an intermediate host of pathogens into consideration.