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| shelled snails text index | photo index |
| Phylum Mollusca > Class Gastropoda |
| Melongena
snails Family Melongenidae updated Oct 08 Where seen? Some large melongena snails are commonly seen on many of our shores, usually in estuaries or near mangroves. Features: Shell large and thick. They have a tough operculum made of a horn-like material. They lay egg capsules in orderly rows on rocks and other hard surfaces. What do they eat? Many species of melongena snails eat bivalves, especially oysters. Human uses: They are collected for food by coastal dwellers and the shell used to make lime. Status and threats: None of our Melongenas are listed among the threatened animals of Singapore. However, like other creatures of the intertidal zone, they are affected by human activities such as reclamation and pollution. Trampling by careless visitors and overharvesting can also have an impact on local populations. |
Melongena snails on Singapore shores
 Unidentified melogena snail Labrador, Jun 08 |
 Although the snail was clearly alive, the shell lacked 'hairs' usually seen on a living Spiral melongena (Pugilina cochlidum). |
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Many of there were seen buried just beneath the sand in a sand bar leaving only a little hole at the surface.
 Tanah Merah, Feb 09 
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 Tanah Merah, Mar 10 
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| Family
Melogenidae recorded for Singapore from Tan Siong Kiat and Henrietta P. M. Woo, 2010 Preliminary Checklist of The Molluscs of Singapore.
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Links
References
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The Nature Society (Singapore), Singapore. 343 pp.|
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