Neritina natalensis
| Neritina natalensis | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Neritimorpha clade Cycloneritimorpha |
| Superfamily: | Neritoidea |
| Family: | Neritidae |
| Subfamily: | Neritininae |
| Tribe: | Neritinini |
| Genus: | Neritina |
| Species: | N. natalensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Neritina natalensis Reeve, L.A., 1845 | |
Neritina natalensis is a species of small freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae, the nerites.
This is a popular aquarium snail, sold because it looks attractive and eats algae in freshwater tanks.
Distribution
This species is endemic to Africa -- Kenya, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, and Tanzania.[1]
Human use
This species is a common choice of algae-eating snail among freshwater aquarists. In the aquarium trade, the striped shell of this species has caused it to be known as the tiger snail, zebra snail, or zebra nerite. (The name zebra nerite is however misleading, because there are several species of nerite that have that common name, including Puperita pupa, a small marine nerite from the tropical western Atlantic.)
In an aquarium, the shell of this species grows to about 2.5 cm (one inch) in diameter. This snail prefers an aquarium temperature of 22 to 26 °C. The snail will venture to the top of the aquarium, and come out of the water from time to time.
References
- 1 2 Appleton, C., Kristensen, T.K., Lange, C.N., Stensgaard, A-S. & Van Damme, D. (2010). "Neritina natalensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 3.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
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