Pomacea canaliculata (Lamarck, 1828)
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Global Range: (>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)) This species is wide ranging in South America.
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Unlike most other snails, P. canaliculata is not hermaphroditic. A male and a female reproduce and if water conditions are optimal and food supply is adequate, they may mate. Due to the sexual dimorphism, these snails typically copulate in pairs. Copulation and spawning tend to be time-consuming activities. Intercourse can last 10-20 hours (and males fast during this time) while the egg-laying process can take up to five hours. In addition, males tend to choose larger females in order to produce more and healthier offspring.
Pomacea canaliculata becomes sexually mature when it reaches 2.5 cm in diameter. Reproductive rates depend on environmental conditions and food availability. Reproduction is highest in the spring and summer and lowest in the fall and winter. Average clutch size is 200-600 eggs, laid every few weeks (egg clutch sizes are 2.2-3.5 mm in diameter). The reproductive period lasts from 2 months to 3 years; this period can decrease with latitude and environmental changes. Life cycles are shorter during good conditions when the snails remain reproductively active throughout the year. Cycles are longer during tougher conditions.
Breeding interval: Channeled apple snails breed more frequently in the spring and summer every few weeks and less frequently in the fall and winter.
Breeding season: These snails breed all year but more in the summer and spring.
Average number of offspring: 200-600.
Average gestation period: 1-2 weeks.
Range time to independence: 15 to 25 days.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 45 to 59 days.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 45 to 59 days.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; year-round breeding ; sexual ; fertilization ; oviparous
There is no parental care by adult channeled apple snails after eggs are laid.
Parental Investment: pre-fertilization (Provisioning)
- Ferguson, C. 2005. "The invasion of apple snails (Pomacea canaliculata) into Hawai'i: A case study in environmental problem solving" (On-line pdf). Accessed September 26, 2012 at http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/nrem/capstone/2005/applesnail2-last.pdf.
- Ghesquiere, S. 2005. "Apple Snails" (On-line). Accessed January 31, 2013 at www.applesnail.net.
- Martin, P. 2002. Pomacea canaliculata (Gastropoda: Ampullariidae): Life-history traits and their plasticity. BioCell, 26/ 1: 83-89. Accessed January 31, 2013 at http://www.in.gov/dnr/files/CHANNELED_APPLE_SNAIL.pdf.
- Yusa, Y. 2006. Genetics of sex-ratio variation inferred from parent-offspring regressions and sib correlations in the apple snail Pomacea canaliculata. Heredity, 96/1: 100-105. Accessed January 31, 2013 at http://www.mendeley.com/research/genetics-of-sexratio-variation-inferred-from-parentoffspring-regressions-and-sib-correlations-in-the-apple-snail-pomacea-canaliculata/#.
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| Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
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The shell of this snail is globular, from 40-60 mm high and 45-75 mm wide, but can reach 150 mm in length. These numbers vary depending on environmental conditions; the shell grows mostly in the spring and summer but growth slows in the fall and winter. The shell can be yellow, green or brown and has five to six whorls separated by a deep indented suture which gives it the “channeled” name. The aperture is large and oval shaped with males having a rounder aperture than females. However, females in the adult stage are overall larger than males. The operculum is moderately thick, corneous, concentric and light to dark brown in color. The operculum is retractable at the shell opening. The body of the snail can vary in color from yellow to brown and almost black. The siphon has yellow spots and its tentacles are curled under the shell when it is resting. The snail is closely related to other species in the canaliculata group, however, distinctions can be made by looking at the color of the eggs, shell size, angle of indented sutures and shell opening.
Range length: 40 to 60 mm.
Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; heterothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: female larger
- Ghesquiere, S. 2005. "Apple Snails" (On-line). Accessed January 31, 2013 at www.applesnail.net.
- Ghesquiere, S. 2005. "Aquatic Invasive Species" (On-line). Accessed January 31, 2013 at http://www.in.gov/dnr/files/CHANNELED_APPLE_SNAIL.pdf.
- Tamburi, N., P. Martín. 2009. Feeding rates and food conversion efficiencies in the apple snail Pomacea canaliculata (Caenogastropoda: Ampullariidae). Malacologia, 51/2: 221-232. Accessed January 31, 2013 at http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.4002/040.051.0201?prevSearch=pomacea%2Bcanaliculata%2Bfood&searchHistoryKey=&queryHash=309d18d4c6b3dbc0960fa39e069af19d.
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All ampullariids (apple snails) are dioecious (i.e. have separate sexes). Fertilization is internal with copulations lasting as long a 18 hours. During these copulations the male snail mounts the female's shell posteriorly and crawls up the body whorl (the largest part of the shell) until he reaches the edge of the shell. He then inserts the muscular penis sheath into the pallial cavity of the female. Once the male has inserted the sheath into the pallial cavity of the female, it then extrudes its thin, whip-like penis through the penis sheath canal and inserts it into the females genital opening. It has been reported that the male uses this sheath to secure himself to the female during lengthy copulations, during which the female may continue to move around and even feed. Additionally, the glands of the sheath may be involved in lubrication, adhesion and nuptial feeding.
Like many snails, female apple snails may store sperm for weeks to months, allowing them to produce fertilized eggs even in the absence of a male partner.
Mating is seasonal and triggered by rainfall and temperature. In its native range of Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay P. canaliculata breeds only in the warm summer months. However, outside of their native range, once released from such seasonal fluctuations, P. canaliculata may reproduce year round, particularly in artificial habitats like rice paddies and taro patches.
In Pomacea canaliculata, as in most of the species in the genus Pomacea, females deposit fertilized eggs above the water on emergent vegetation. The developing embryos are surrounded by bright pink/red perivitellins (the major component of the egg yolk) and are encased in a calcareoius shell. The perivitellins are thought to be primarily nutritive, but also serve a protective function, as the pigments block UV light. The calcareous casing prevents desiccation, but remains semi-permeable to allow oxygen penetration. In what seems somewhat odd for a freshwater snail, if the eggs are submerged in water for extended periods the embryos will die. Egg clutches may contain as many as 500 or more eggs. However, this is a small number when compared to the 1000's of eggs often deposited by P. insularum, a closely related species.
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| Rights holder/Author | Hayes, Kenneth, Hayes, Kenneth, Ampullariidae |
| Source | http://ampullariidae.lifedesks.org/pages/108 |
Neotype for Pomacea canaliculata (Lamarck, 1822)
Catalog Number: USNM 1185844
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Invertebrate Zoology
Preparation: Ethanol - 80%; Dry
Collector(s): A. Vazquez
Year Collected: 2004
Locality: Lago de Regatas (Regatas Lake), Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
- Neotype: Hayes, K. A., et al. 2012. Comparing apples with apples: clarifying the identities of two highly invasive Neotropical Ampullariidae (Caenogastropoda). Zoological Journal Of The Linnean Society. 166: 723-753.
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| Rights holder/Author | This image was obtained from the Smithsonian Institution. Unless otherwise noted, this image or its contents may be protected by international copyright laws. |
| Source | http://collections.mnh.si.edu/search/iz/?irn=10295611 |
The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.
There are 93 barcode sequences available from BOLD and GenBank.
Below is a sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species.
See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen and other sequences.
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Often confused with another species that has been introduced outside of its native range, P. insularum. Also confused with a number of other closely related species including, P. lineata, P. figulina, and P. dolioides.
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| Rights holder/Author | Hayes, Kenneth, Hayes, Kenneth, Ampullariidae |
| Source | http://ampullariidae.lifedesks.org/pages/108 |
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 93
Specimens with Barcodes: 100
Species With Barcodes: 1
The channeled apple snail is found in a variety of different habitats, including the subtropics and tropics in the Amazon Interior Basin and Plata Basin. This species is found in a variety of freshwater areas such as lakes, water courses, wetlands and agricultural areas. Temperature preferences for P. canaliculata range from 18 to 25 degrees C. Temperatures below 18 degrees or above 32 degrees C drastically increases the snail's mortality rate.
Habitat Regions: tropical ; freshwater
Aquatic Biomes: lakes and ponds
Wetlands: marsh ; swamp
Other Habitat Features: agricultural
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| Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
| Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Pomacea_canaliculata/ |
This species has no conservation status.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
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| Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
| Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Pomacea_canaliculata/ |