Melanoides tuberculata (O. F. Müller, 1774)

Worlwide tropical warm rivers, streams and lakes; detritus feeder; burrows its den in soft sediments. This is the first species of snail, in quantity, in the freshwater systems of French Antilles. Also present in Réunion Island. First occurrence in continental France: ruisseau du Salut, Bagnères-de-Bigorre, Hautes-Pyrénées (temp. 18°C); also present in Aude, Hérault, Bouches-du-Rhône, and now Pyrénées-Orientales. Original taxon: Nerita tuberculata. The shell is highly polymorphic (the taxon contains divergent clades), hence the impressive number of synonyms. Among many other habitats, tuberculata can be found in springs, as soon as the water is warm.

Left: Hamelin Pool, near Shark Bay, West Australia.
Original picture provided by henrycarrick for iNaturalist – (CC BY-NC).
Right: Westfield, Austin, Texas.
Original picture provided by hydaticus for iNaturalist – (CC BY-NC).
Subadult found in the sink of the eastern warm spring of the Clue de la Fou, Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet, Pyrénées-Orientales. Altitude ≈ 280m. 16mm.
Young specimen from the same spot. The presence of gravel on the bottom in which this population burrows does not help keep the shells intact; repairs can be numerous. 14,5mm.
Juvenile from the same spot. 2,6mm.
The transition protoconch-teleoconch.
 
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