Pomacea (Perry,1810) Species with thin,globose shells with ovate apertures.They have an open umbilicus. The eggs are laid outside the water and have a large variation in color and size. They have a long siphon,and can be found in rivers,lakes,canals,swamps and streams, with plenty of vegetation. The species are difficult to identify,the number ranges between 75 and 150. All Applesnails have separated sexes. Most of them will never be found in aquatic shops.
Pomacea paludosa
This is the largest freshwater snail of Florida and Cuba,about 40-70 mm high.
The color of the shell is greenish to brownish with dark spiral bands.
It is sometimes eaten,although it can be host of a dangerous nematode.
They are often collected for the use in aquaria,although it can eat all the plants.
In Cuba they are able to live in relatively acid waters.
Pomacea poeyana A Cuban species,medium in size with a conical,low spire.The color can be variable, but is usually whitish with cream and dark bands.They live in shallow waters with muddy bottoms,such as rice-fields.
Pomacea haustrum This species lives in Brazil and the Amazon river region and has a medium to large size shell.The color is brownish with spiral bands.It has a wide and ovate aperture.
Pomacea lineata
The shell of this species can be over 80mm high.It is light brownish with darker brown spiral bands.The umbilicus is
deep and the aperture large and ovate.
The species lives in rivers,canals and ditches in Brazil to Rio de Janeiro.
Pomacea glauca This is a very variable species,with also the shape of the shell varying. The colors range from a purplish color to pale yellow with or without spiral bands. The species is found in clean,clear water,especially in lakes.It lives in a wide area in Northern South-America.
Pomacea urceus This is one of the largest of the American Applesnails,having reached sometimes 115 mm in height.The color of the shell is blackish to brownish,but can be variable. There is another species said to be a form of P.urceus.This is P.Nobilis, mostly considered to be a synonym of P.guyanensis.The urceus form is found in flowing,clear waters,and the nobilis/guyanensis form is found in still waters and swamps.
Pomacea sordida This large species is found in Brazil.The shell is brownish to greenish and has spiral bands.The umbilicus is deep and the aperture large.
Pomacea flagellata This is another very variable species,living from central Mexico to Colombia. There are many synonyms and about four subspecies of this snail.The shell sometimes appears to be hammered.
Pomacea canaliculata
*
The shell is brownish with dark spiral bands,and has a wide aperture.This one
of the most wide spread species in South-America,and is also found in some
Asian countries(as a foodsource),Hawaii and Australia.
This species is sometimes found in aquarium shops.
Males have a heavier shell a narrower mouth.
Pomacea bridgesi
*
The mystery snail as is it sometimes called,is the species most found in aquariums.
They hardly get any larger than 50 mm,but can reach 65 mm in the wild.
As in a lot of other species there is confusion about the actual name.
Apparently the form mostly seen in aquariums is P. b. diffusa.
Pomacea maculata
*
This is the largest known species,with records of 155 mm height and 135 mm width.
The shell is thin and brownish.It lives in deep,still waters with a lot of
vegetation.
These snails sometimes are found in the aquariumtrade.
Pomacea insularum(d'Orbigny,1835)
Shell large about 100 mm high and 110 mm wide,with a low spire and a big aperture.
The color is brownish with darker spiral bands.
This species lives in swamps and slow flowing rivers from southern Brazil
to Argentina and Uruguay.
Pomacea papyracea(Spix,1827)
This snail is known as the Papershell Apple Snail because the shell is thin
and fragile.They reach over 110 mm in height.The color is blackish when the
snail is juvenile to reddish brown in adults.
This species lives in swamps from Venezuela to the Amazon region.
pictures courtesy of Martin Kohl
except *=pictures courtesy of www.applesnail.net