Welcome to Ampullariidae
This site will serve as the primary repository for the latest information on apple snails (Ampullariidae). A major systematic revision, led by Robert Cowie, Ellen Strong, Silvana Thiengo and Kenneth Hayes is underway, and as data are accumulated we will add more to this site. This systematic work along with other research into the ecology, physiology, invasion biology, biogeography and evolution of the enigmatic freshwater snails will be synthesized and made available through this site.
Apple snails are freshwater (some amphibious) snails that are distributed throughout the humid tropics and subtropics of Africa, South and Central America, the Caribbean, southeastern North America, and southern Asia, where they often constitute a major portion of the native freshwater molluscan fauna. They are often referred to as apple snails because of their large, round, frequently greenish shells. The family belongs to the Caenogastropoda, the largest and most diverse group of gastropods (ca. 60% of the living Gastropoda).
The Ampullariidae have a primarily circumtropical distribution, reaching their highest diversity in South America. There are records of ampullariids from the Lower Cretaceous, ~145 million years before present (mybp), and the Upper Jurassic, ~160 mybp, in Africa and Asia respectively, and their fossil record dates back at least 50 mybp in the Neotropics. More than 150 nominal species are recognized in nine extant genera: Afropomus Pilsbry and Bequaert, 1927, Saulea Gray, 1867, and Lanistes Montfort, 1810 are African, Pila Röding, 1798 is African and Asian, Asolene d’Orbigny, 1838, Felipponea Dall, 1919, Marisa Gray, 1824, and Pomella Gray, 1847 are South American, Pomacea Perry, 1810 ranges from Argentina to the southeastern U.S.A. and the Caribbean.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No.DEB-0949061
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation (NSF).
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