Order

Not assigned

  Class

Gastropoda

  No. of Genera in Ref.

  No. of Species in Ref.

  Environment

Fresh : No | Brackish : Yes | Marine : Yes

  Aquarium

  First Fossil Record

     

  Remark

Shell thick and solid, tapering, high-conical, with many flattened or slightly convex spire whorls. Sculpture generally coarse, with spiral grooves or cords and often axial ribs, giving a reticulated to nodular aspect. Axial varices sometimes present. Periostracum usually well developed, brownish to corneous. Aperture relatively small, with a short and deep anterior siphonal canal. Outer lip often thickened and more or less flaring. Operculum rounded, corneous, with many spiral coils and a subcentral nucleus. Head with a pair of tentacles, abruptly narrowing distally and bearing eyes at or above their thickened bases. Foot rounded in front and obtuse behind. Abundant in brackish-water environments, on mud flats of estuaries and in mangrove swamps near high tide line. Feeds on algae or detritus, which are scraped with a powerful radula. Sexes separate. Males devoid of penis, sperm transferred during mating in spermatophores. Potamididae are extensively used as food in the area, and their shell is mainly utilized for making lime. In the Philippines, they appear quite often in local markets. They are consumed steamed or boiled, and a somewhat piquant taste increases the desire for drinking (Ref. 349).

  Etymology

  Division

  Reproductive guild

  Typical activity level

  Main Ref.

  Coordinator