Biology of golden snail in relation to Philippine condition
1991
Guerrero, L. (Aquatic Biosystems, National Highway Bay, Laguna (Philippines))
There is scarcity of information on the biology of golden snail in the Philippines. What little is known comes from scientific and popular publications. There is confusion over identification and nomenclature of the golden snail in the Philippines. Authors refer to species such as Ampullaria gigas, Pomacea sp., and Pila leoporduillensis. Golden snail species in the Philippines have separate sexes. Females are identified by their concave operculum; males by a convex operculum. They can spawn year-round under favorable field and laboratory conditions. They copulate by day. The females deposit eggs at night on substrates such as sticks, marophytes (including grass) and even rock. The egg masses are pinkish-red and contain 50-500 eggs. They hatch within 10-15 days outdoors. Young snails start feeding on dentritus and soft aquatic plants. Adults become voracious feeders on fresh plant materials. They are hardy and withstand low dissolved oxygen in water and organic pollution. They grow fast and have been reported to reach 5 cm in diameter within a year. They attain maturity at 3.0-3.5 cm diameter.
Show more [+] Less [-]AGROVOC Keywords
Bibliographic information
This bibliographic record has been provided by University of the Philippines at Los Baños