Achatina is a genus of medium-sized to very large, air-breathing, tropical land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Achatinidae.[2]
Distribution
There are some 200 species of Achatinidae in Sub-Saharan Africa. Some species are kept as terrarium animals due to their size of three inches, and colourful shells.
Shell description
Snails in this genus have medium to large shells which are ovate in shape and often colourfully streaked.
Species
Species within the genus Achatina include:
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Achatina achatina Linnaeus, 1758 or giant African snail, Agate Snail or Ghana Tiger Snail, from Western Africa (Liberia through Nigeria) grows to be the largest land snail on Earth.
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Achatina ampullacea Böttger, 1910
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Achatina balteata Reeve, 1849 - Cameroon to Central Angola.
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Achatina bandeirana Morelet, 1866
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Achatina bayaona Morelet, 1866
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Achatina bayoli Morelet, 1888
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Achatina bisculpta E. A. Smith, 1878
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Achatina connollyi Preston, 1912
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Achatina coroca Bruggen, 1978
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Achatina craveni E. A. Smith, 1881 - Congo, Tanzania.
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Achatina dammarensis Pfeiffer - Botswana
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Achatina ellioti E. A. Smith, 1895
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Achatina greyi Da Costa, 1907
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Achatina hortensiae Morelet, 1866
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Achatina iostoma Pfeiffer, 1854 - Cameroon
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Achatina iredalei Preston, 1910
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Achatina lechaptoisi Ancey, 1894
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Achatina obscura Da Costa, 1907
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Achatina osborni Pilsbry, 1919
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Achatina marginata Swainson, 1821[3]
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Achatina passargei von Martens
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Achatina pfeifferi Dunker, 1845
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Achatina purpurea (Gmelin, 1790)
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Achatina randabeli Bourguignat, 1889
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Achatina schinziana Bousson - Botswana
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Achatina schweinfurthi von Martens, 1873 - East Africa.
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Achatina semisculpta Dunker, 1845 - East Africa
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Achatina smithii Craven, 1881
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Achatina stuhlmanni von Martens, 1892 - Uganda.
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Achatina sylvatica Putzeys, 1898 - Congo
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Achatina tavaresiana Morelet, 1866 - Angola
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Achatina tincta Reeve, 1842 - Congo, Angola
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Achatina tracheia Connolly, 1929 - Southeast Africa
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Achatina transparens Da Costa, 1907
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Achatina variegata Roissy
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Achatina vignoniana Morelet, 1874: synonym of Achatina (Tripachatina) vignoniana Morelet, 1874
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Achatina virgulata Da Costa, 1907
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Achatina welwitschi Morelet, 1866
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Achatina weynsi Dautzenberg, 1891 - Congo
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Achatina wildemani Dautzenberg, 1907
incertae sedis:
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Achatina vassei Germain, 1918 - The internal anatomy of this species is not known, and therefore the generic classification of ‘Achatina’ vassei cannot be made.[4]
- Species brought into synonymy
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Achatina albopicta E. A. Smith, 1878 - along the coast of Kenya and Tanzania: synonym of Lissachatina albopicta (E. A. Smith, 1878)
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Achatina allisa Reeve, 1849: synonym of Lissachatina allisa (L. Reeve, 1849)
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Achatina bloyeti Bourguignat, 1890: synonym of Lissachatina bloyeti (Bourguignat, 1890)
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Achatina capelloi Furtado, 1886: synonym of Lissachatina capelloi (Furtado, 1886)
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Achatina fulgurata Pfeiffer, 1853 - Senegal: synonym of Achatina eleanorae Mead, 1995
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Achatina drakensbergensis Melvill & Ponsonby, 1897 : synonym of Cochlitoma drakensbergensis (Melvill & Ponsonby, 1897)
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Achatina eleanorae Mead, 1995: synonym of Lissachatina eleanorae (Mead, 1995)
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Achatina fulica Bowdich, 1822 or giant East African snail from Eastern Africa is a serious pest in the many tropical countries where it has been introduced, and is listed as an invasive species by some governments: synonym of Lissachatina fulica (Bowdich, 1822)
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Achatina glaucina E. A. Smith, 1899: synonym of Lissachatina glaucina (E. A. Smith, 1899)
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Achatina glutinosa Pfeiffer, 1854 - Mozambique: synonym of Lissachatina glutinosa (L. Pfeiffer, 1854)
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Achatina gundlachi L. Pfeiffer, 1850: synonym of Geostilbia gundlachi (L. Pfeiffer, 1850)
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Achatina immaculata Lamarck, 1822 - Southeastern Africa: synonym of Lissachatina immaculata (Lamarck, 1822)
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Achatina johnstoni E. A. Smith, 1899: synonym of Lissachatina johnstoni (E. A. Smith, 1899)
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Achatina monochromatica Pilsbry (Deprecated. Old historical synonym of Achatina achatina var. monochromatic)
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Achatina mulanjensis Crowley & Pain - Malawi: synonym of Achatina immaculata Lamarck, 1822 (junior synonym)
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Achatina nyikaensis Pilsbry, 1909 - Malawi: synonym of Bequaertina pintoi (Bourguignat, 1889) (junior synonym)
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Achatina panthera Férussac, 1832 - Zimbabwe, Mauritius: synonym of Achatina immaculata Lamarck, 1822
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Achatina pellucida L. Pfeiffer, 1840: synonym of Blauneria heteroclita (Montagu, 1808)
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Achatina reticulata Pfeiffer, 1845 - Zanzibar: synonym of Lissachatina reticulata (L. Pfeiffer, 1845)
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Achatina varicosa Pfeiffer, 1845 - South Africa: synonym of Cochlitoma varicosa (L. Pfeiffer, 1861)
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Achatina zanzibarica Bourguignat, 1879 - Tanzania: synonym of Lissachatina zanzibarica (Bourguignat, 1879)
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Achatina zebra Bruguiere, 1792 - South Africa: synonym of Cochlitoma zebra (Bruguière, 1792)
References
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^ Lamarck J.-B. (1799). Mém. Soc. Hist. nat. Paris 1: 75.
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^ Bouchet, P. (2014). Achatina Lamarck, 1799. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=818098 on 2014-11-07
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^ Du Cane Godman, Frederick. Annali Del Museo Civico Di Storia Naturale "Giacomo Doria", Museo civico di storia naturale, Genoa, 1916, p. 245
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^ Bruggen A. C. van (2010). "A new record of ‘Achatina’ vassei Germain, 1918 (Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Achatinidae) from Mozambique – an unsolved problem". Zoologische Mededelingen 84. HTM Archived 2011-10-07 at the Wayback Machine.
