Overview of popular species and subspecies of Achatina

Giant Achatina are representatives of a subclass of land pulmonary snails. They are increasingly found in home collections. More and more people prefer to have these mollusks at home along with traditional cats and dogs.

However, before you start these cute creatures at home, you need to learn about their varieties and some features of their content. In nature, there are many species of Achatina. It is impossible to provide a description of all of them within the framework of one article; therefore, we will consider brief characteristics of some of the names most often mentioned in the literature and among breeders.

Achatina were brought to Europe from southern exotic countries. They live in large numbers in Africa, South America, Mauritius and other southern islands. Due to their enormous fecundity, they are able to quickly colonize entire colonies in vast territories, eating vegetation and harming agricultural land. Therefore, in some tropical countries they are forbidden to breed and sell. But in the temperate climate zone they do not survive and are able to reproduce only in artificial conditions.

They are considered the largest among all types of snails. The size of an adult can reach 20 cm. This snail attracts with its meek disposition, lack of noise, smell and allergy, as well as a variety of colors of the shell.

The shell, which serves as a kind of house for the mollusk, grows throughout its life - the older the individual, the more turns there are at the shell. In addition, the shell can change its color depending on the food that the animal consumes. All Achatina hermaphrodites, that is, have a male and female beginning, therefore they do not need a partner for fertilization. If two individuals live in the same space, they are able to fertilize each other.

Not all species of Achatina lay their eggs. Some of them viviparous. These mollusks absolutely do not distinguish sounds, and only slightly distinguish semitones.

If you decide to have such an exotic pet at home, you should learn how to identify snail breeds and their subspecies. The conditions of detention for these snails are similar, but there are some differences in behavior and appearance. As already mentioned above, there are a lot of different types of Achatina in nature - about 60 titles, some of them have subspecies. We list the most famous of them.

They are easily recognizable by the tiger color of the shell: dark brown spots on a yellow background. Among them there are individuals with a standard color, as well as albino achatins, in which the body is white, devoid of any pigment, and the shell is light yellow. It is believed that in this way the snail adapts to high temperatures in its homeland and protects itself from overheating. It is believed that for the first time in Russia, albinos were imported in 2009 by a breeder from Austria. Since then, the population has expanded.

The most numerous and most unpretentious species of Achatina. It can do without food and drink for up to several weeks, and multiply without any special conditions. It is customary to distinguish 5 main subspecies of Achatina fulica.

• Standard Fulika. The shell itself is brown with various shades and a colorful pattern, and the apex and columella (the inner portion of the shell near the mouth) are white. Body color can be from light beige to dark brown.
• Fulika hemeli (hamillei). It can be distinguished from the standard pink apex (upper curl on the shell).
• Fulica albino body (albino body). The color of the shell can be anything, and the body is exclusively milky white. In some sources, its name is also found "white jade" (White Jade).
• Fulica rodotsi Dunker (rodatzi Dunker). The body and shell have a plain yellow color without a pattern.
• Fulika leucist (Achatina fulica leucistic). They also have a white body, but the pupils are black.

Achatina glutinosis, from Latin, is translated as sticky - its shell has a glossy, as if sugar surface and seems sticky. It is slightly smaller than the fulica in size - its length is about 10 cm.

The reticulum (translated from Latin as mesh) has a shell with a rough surface and a fine mesh pattern. The head of the snail usually has a slightly brighter color compared to the rest of the body.

At first glance, the albopict is very similar to the reticulate. You can distinguish them by the presence of pink apex. In addition, the albopict does not have such a pronounced ribbing as in the previous species. The final turn on the shell is usually darker than the rest, and the first curls have a spotty uneven color.

Iradels are also called lemon because of the yellow shell. The size of the snails is small - only 5-8 cm. It differs from its relatives in that It does not lay eggs, but gives birth to live cubs.

Kraveni are also characterized by small size (5-7 cm with a shell) and are also viviparous. Kraveni does not tolerate heat, so at home among them there is a high mortality rate. The optimum temperature of the content is about + 15 ... 20 degrees Celsius. Love high humidity.

Marginata ovum belongs to the family of the archahatina. Unlike Achatina, these are larger and more massive individuals. The shell is wider and more rounded in shape, colored yellow-brown, and the leg has a V-shaped silhouette. The body is dark, gray-brown.

Immakulata is growing rapidly. Adult snail reaches up to 15 cm in length. The color of the shell may be different, but most often it is a variation on the theme of red and brown.The pigment intensity may vary slightly in individuals depending on the conditions of detention and habitat. Along the whole body, starting from the head of the snail, a wide strip passes. Several times in Russia they tried to bring in two-toned immunoculum (two-ton) for reproduction.

The peculiarity of this subspecies is that The final turn on the sink is two-tone. However, this subspecies of snails turned out to be very capricious and unsuitable for living in captivity.

Achatina Panther is a very beautiful snail. Her sink is decorated with colorful stripes. Thanks to its rainbow color, the panther is very popular among breeders. Its size is about 14 cm. Depending on the color of the shell, it is customary to distinguish several subgroups of Achatina panther.

• Férussac. This group is considered the standard. Her homeland is Mauritius. Their shell is walnut-colored with rainbow stripes from white-pink to dark purple. It is covered with a thin protective film, which gradually peels off closer to a year old.
• Lamarckiana Pfeiffer. This subspecies lives in Malawi, Madagascar and Mauritius. Lamarciana has a more elongated shell than that of other panthers, a pattern in the form of randomly scattered spots and strokes. The final turn of the shell is plain.
• Antourtourensis Crosse. This is a fairly rare subspecies. According to some reports, it was formed in Madagascar, so sometimes this group of Achatina is called "Madagascar." This group is an albino - the shell is devoid of any color, and the body length of the snail is only 8-9 cm.

Zanzibarik snails native to the African countries of Zanzibar and Tanzania (hence their name) are viviparous species. In captivity, they rarely grow more than 10 cm. The body of the zanzibarika is light gray, the head with a dark strip. In individuals born under natural conditions, the body is darker than in those who appeared in captivity. The shell is straw-yellow, with a colorful mesh pattern in brown. In natural and artificially grown mollusks, the pattern may vary. In domesticated individuals, it is more abstract, while in domestic cubs wide lines of brown pigment are observed.

The homeland of this species are the countries of the Congo and Burundi. The size of the shell is slightly less than 10 cm, the color is light beige with a brown zigzag ornament. The color of the apex is pink with varying degrees of intensity, the columella is pure white.

This species is also from Congo. The length of the shell is about 12 cm, the color is tiger, the intensity depends on the place of origin, the body is pinkish-brown, the apex from birth is white, turns pink by the year.

A very rare species, almost never found in private collections. Homeland - the countries of South Africa. In nature leads a tree lifestyle. The size of the shell is about 7 cm, the surface is rough and flaky, as if with the effect of a “gun”. The body is beige, with a brown stripe, the head is slightly darker than the body. The main background of the shell is brown, with a light blurry pattern.

Achatina varicosa is about 7-10 cm in size, native to Africa. In some sources, the name zebra is also found. The shell is light, with brown or black waves. Apex and columella are pink and white. At temperatures below +15 degrees Celsius hibernates.

Another rare and little-studied species of snails, which the general public became aware of in 2013. These snails were brought to the European continent from Sudan and Congo. The shells of these achatins grow up to 14-15 cm. The shell is with a glossy surface, pistachio color, with dark brown stripes.

For how to care for the snails of Achatina reticulata, see the next video.