 |
|
| shelled snails text index | photo index |
| Phylum Mollusca > Class Gastropoda > Family Neritidae |
| Similar
nerite snails How to tell them apart? updated Oct 2016 These snails with thick hemispherical shells belong to the Family Neritidae. Each species may come in a wide variety of patterns and colours, so they can't be distinguished by shell patterns and colours alone. Their shell structures look very similar. Here's how to roughly tell apart some of the most similar looking nerites. Positive identification, however, can only be made by looking at internal features of the shell and animal. |
|
|
 |
|
Chameleon
nerite snail
Nerita chamaeleon |
Waved
nerite snail
Nerita undata |
Scaled
nerite snail
Nerita histrio |
 |
 |
 |
| Spire slightly sticking out. | Spire sticking out a lot. | Spire not sticking out or depressed. |
| Thicker ribs | Smooth finer ribs | Rougher texture of shell |
 |
 |
 |
| Underside
may have ridges and rounded bumps. |
Underside
may be wrinkled or have some ridges. |
Underside smooth. |
 |
 |
 |
| A
few tiny ridged 'teeth' at the shell opening. |
3-4 - 'teeth' at the shell opening. | A few tiny teeth at the shell opening with reddish stain on young snails. |
| Sometimes
one large 'tooth' at outer lip. |
Sometimes
one large 'tooth' at outer lip. |
No large 'tooth' at outer lip. |
Links
|