Snail ID - Photo inc (spiral shell + Small)

FBNitro · 08/02/2008, 10:13 PM

Saw this guy tonight after lights out... the shell is 3/16's of an inch long. Anyone have an ID for this guy? The ID sites I have bookmarked don't list it...

Note: Photo is high res, you can follow the image and hit the zoom button and get a full resolution version.

sassafrass · 08/02/2008, 10:21 PM

I have never seen that one it must be a hitchhiker , perhaps Leslie H our resident expert can tell us.
Lee

kau_cinta_ku · 08/02/2008, 10:40 PM

Rissoidae maybe?

padi200 · 08/02/2008, 10:46 PM

It has the general shape of the Rissoidae snails.. but not sure which one.
I have seen them before as hitch hikers so maybe?

FBNitro · 08/02/2008, 11:06 PM

That's some sort of pyramid snail, isn't it? Kills other snails.

pagojoe · 08/03/2008, 12:37 AM

It seems like I've ended up calling most of small white snails posted recently "rissoids," but...I think FB is right this time. If you've read Dr. Shimek's article on how to separate the pyramidellids (usually in the genus Turbonilla or very close relatives) from the rissoids, you know that the first whorls, or protoconchs, of rissoids are in the same plane as the later whorls, while the protoconch whorls of Turbonilla species are ninety degrees off of the plane of the later whorls (teleoconch). It makes the tip of a Turbonilla look odd, with the first whorl vertical compared to the horizontal whorls of the rest of the shell, when viewed with the spire up. I blew up your photo, and I believe I can see that the protoconch is indeed typical of the "pyramidellids" as described by Dr. Shimek.

The outline of the shell is typically somewhat convex in rissoids, and I don't know of any that are as straight as the shell in the pic above. The shape and sculpture are fairly typical for Turbonilla species (family Pyramidellidae) and a few closely-related genera, however. If it's a pyramidellid as I believe, it should be parasitic on some mollusc in your tank, either larger snails such as Turbo or Astraea species, or clams. Check and see if you can find any others attached to your cleanup crew, or to the underside of your clams if you have any.

There are several species in the genus Turbonilla that are similar, and probably the closest of these is Turbonilla cura. Sorry I can't find a pic of that one to link, or of any of the other similar ones for that matter. The most likely candidate (in my opinion) is Amamimorula belonis, and I actually DID find a pic of that one on the net:

http://www.gastropods.com/6/Shell_47516.html

The pic linked above has dead animal remains in it that make it look brown rather than white, but if you can visualize it in white only, you'll see that it's very similar to your shell.

Sorry to tell you it's probably a bad guy. Maybe he's a lost loner, and you won't find an infestation in your tank!

Cheers,

Don

FBNitro · 08/03/2008, 12:50 AM

Darn it... okay thank's Don. The guy is gone right now... I'll have to keep my eyes peeled. None of my cleaners are on the glass right now, so I can't look them over. I have a huge Stomatella population (14+) for a 10 gallon tank, would it go after them? The rest of my snails are Nassarius/Astraea (the spiney ones).

FBNitro · 08/03/2008, 01:47 AM

Well it came back up the glass so I was able to grab it. Here are the best I could do with close up images... I really should get that Macro lens for my camera.

Hopefully this would give you a better ID... but at least if we're unsure it's out of my tank.

pagojoe · 08/03/2008, 02:06 PM

Yup, that's what I thought it looked like. You might have just had one hitchhike in on live rock or something, and he only recently got hungry enough to go out looking for a new host. Your Stomatellas are too small and too fast to host them, so you needn't worry about them. The most common hosts are turbinids and tridacnids. I'd check the bottom of a couple of my Astraeas and see if I could find more.

Cheers,

Don

FBNitro · 08/16/2008, 10:46 PM

Found a second one tonight. I haven't seen anything on the 5 Astraea's that I have. Again, it was on the glass, I pulled it out.

08/02/2008, 10:13 PM	#1
FBNitro Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada Posts: 641	Snail ID - Photo inc (spiral shell + Small) Saw this guy tonight after lights out... the shell is 3/16's of an inch long. Anyone have an ID for this guy? The ID sites I have bookmarked don't list it... Note: Photo is high res, you can follow the image and hit the zoom button and get a full resolution version. Last edited by FBNitro; 08/02/2008 at 10:24 PM.

08/03/2008, 12:50 AM	#7
FBNitro Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada Posts: 641	Darn it... okay thank's Don. The guy is gone right now... I'll have to keep my eyes peeled. None of my cleaners are on the glass right now, so I can't look them over. I have a huge Stomatella population (14+) for a 10 gallon tank, would it go after them? The rest of my snails are Nassarius/Astraea (the spiney ones). Last edited by FBNitro; 08/03/2008 at 01:08 AM.

08/02/2008, 10:21 PM	#2
sassafrass Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: capitola ca Posts: 1,729	I have never seen that one it must be a hitchhiker , perhaps Leslie H our resident expert can tell us. Lee

08/02/2008, 10:40 PM	#3
kau_cinta_ku Moved On Join Date: May 2005 Location: NW Iowa Posts: 8,669	Rissoidae maybe?

08/02/2008, 10:46 PM	#4
padi200 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: LA, CA Posts: 529	It has the general shape of the Rissoidae snails.. but not sure which one. I have seen them before as hitch hikers so maybe?

08/02/2008, 11:06 PM	#5
FBNitro Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada Posts: 641	That's some sort of pyramid snail, isn't it? Kills other snails.

08/03/2008, 12:37 AM	#6
pagojoe Team RC Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Conroe, TX Posts: 2,761	It seems like I've ended up calling most of small white snails posted recently "rissoids," but...I think FB is right this time. If you've read Dr. Shimek's article on how to separate the pyramidellids (usually in the genus Turbonilla or very close relatives) from the rissoids, you know that the first whorls, or protoconchs, of rissoids are in the same plane as the later whorls, while the protoconch whorls of Turbonilla species are ninety degrees off of the plane of the later whorls (teleoconch). It makes the tip of a Turbonilla look odd, with the first whorl vertical compared to the horizontal whorls of the rest of the shell, when viewed with the spire up. I blew up your photo, and I believe I can see that the protoconch is indeed typical of the "pyramidellids" as described by Dr. Shimek. The outline of the shell is typically somewhat convex in rissoids, and I don't know of any that are as straight as the shell in the pic above. The shape and sculpture are fairly typical for Turbonilla species (family Pyramidellidae) and a few closely-related genera, however. If it's a pyramidellid as I believe, it should be parasitic on some mollusc in your tank, either larger snails such as Turbo or Astraea species, or clams. Check and see if you can find any others attached to your cleanup crew, or to the underside of your clams if you have any. There are several species in the genus Turbonilla that are similar, and probably the closest of these is Turbonilla cura. Sorry I can't find a pic of that one to link, or of any of the other similar ones for that matter. The most likely candidate (in my opinion) is Amamimorula belonis, and I actually DID find a pic of that one on the net: http://www.gastropods.com/6/Shell_47516.html The pic linked above has dead animal remains in it that make it look brown rather than white, but if you can visualize it in white only, you'll see that it's very similar to your shell. Sorry to tell you it's probably a bad guy. Maybe he's a lost loner, and you won't find an infestation in your tank! Cheers, Don

08/03/2008, 01:47 AM	#8
FBNitro Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada Posts: 641	Well it came back up the glass so I was able to grab it. Here are the best I could do with close up images... I really should get that Macro lens for my camera. Hopefully this would give you a better ID... but at least if we're unsure it's out of my tank.

08/03/2008, 02:06 PM	#9
pagojoe Team RC Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Conroe, TX Posts: 2,761	Yup, that's what I thought it looked like. You might have just had one hitchhike in on live rock or something, and he only recently got hungry enough to go out looking for a new host. Your Stomatellas are too small and too fast to host them, so you needn't worry about them. The most common hosts are turbinids and tridacnids. I'd check the bottom of a couple of my Astraeas and see if I could find more. Cheers, Don

08/16/2008, 10:46 PM	#10
FBNitro Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada Posts: 641	Found a second one tonight. I haven't seen anything on the 5 Astraea's that I have. Again, it was on the glass, I pulled it out.