''Clithon oualaniense''Rosenberg G. (2015). ''Clithon oualaniense''. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=737519 on 2016-04-04 is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of brackish waterGrüneberg H. & Nugaliyadde L. (1976). "Population studies on a polymorphic prosobranch snail (''Clithon'' (''Pictoneritina'') ''oualaniensis'' Lesson). ''

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Royal Society. The editor-in-chief is John Pickett (Cardiff University). Overview Each issue covers a spe ...

'' 275(940): 385–437. .

snail A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gastro ...

with an operculum, a

nerite Neritidae, common name the nerites, is a taxonomic family of small to medium-sized saltwater and freshwater snails which have a gill and a distinctive operculum. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Neritininae Poey, 1852. Accessed through: ...

. It is an aquatic

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

in the family

Neritidae Neritidae, common name the nerites, is a taxonomic family of small to medium-sized saltwater and freshwater snails which have a gill and a distinctive operculum. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Neritininae Poey, 1852. Accessed through: ...

, the nerites.

Distribution

This species occurs in

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

region: Nansei-shoto in Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Jawa in Indonesia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Queensland in Australia India and Ceylon. It also occurs in American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, New Caledonia, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

Description

The coloration pattern on the shell is very variable.Gruneberg H. (1982). "Pseudo-polymorphism in ''Clithon oualaniensis''". ''

Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B ''Proceedings of the Royal Society'' is the main research journal of the Royal Society. The journal began in 1831 and was split into two series in 1905: * Series A: for papers in physical sciences and mathematics. * Series B: for papers in life s ...

'' 216(1203): 147-157. .

Ecology

Batillaria zonalis and Clithon oualaniense

''Clithon oualaniense'' is a eurybiotic species.Zvonareva S., Kantor Yu., Li X. & Britayev T. (2015). "Long-term monitoring of Gastropoda (Mollusca) fauna in planted mangroves in central Vietnam". '' Zoological Studies'' 54: 39. . It inhabits soft bottoms of intertidal habitats. It can occur in high density, for example 347 snails per m² was recorded, that correspond to the biomass of 30.6 g per m². It also inhabits sea grass bed with ''

Zostera japonica ''Zostera japonica'' is a species of aquatic plant in the Zosteraceae family. It is referred to by the common names dwarf eelgrass or Japanese eelgrass, and is native to the seacoast of eastern Asia from Russia to Vietnam, and introduced to the ...

''. The activity of ''Clithon oualaniense'' is diurnal; snails are active during the daytime and inactive at night. It bury itself into the mud, when the tide is high, probably to avoid water predators.Ohgaki S. I. (2001). "An example of activity pattern of the estuarine snails, ''Clithon faba'' and ''Clithon oualaniensis'' (Gastropoda: Neritidae) in the Nagura Lagoon, Ishigaki Island". ''Argonauta'' 4: 28-37
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They are on the surface feeding and mating when the tide is low. ''Clithon oualaniense'' is herbivorous, feeding of microalgae and on

detritus In biology, detritus () is dead particulate organic material, as distinguished from dissolved organic material. Detritus typically includes the bodies or fragments of bodies of dead organisms, and fecal material. Detritus typically hosts commun ...

.Takada Y. (2000). "Activity patterns of ''Clithon oualaniensis'' (Mollusca: Gastropoda) on intertidal seagrass beds in Hong Kong". In: The Marine Flora and Fauna of Hong Kong and Southern China V: Proceedings of the Tenth International Marine Biological Workshop: the Marine Flora and Fauna of Hong Kong and Southern China, Hong Kong, 6–26 April 1998 (Vol. 5, p. 217). Kent State University Press
217
227.

References

External links

* Budiman A. (1988). "Aspect of ecology of ''Clithon oualaniensis'' (Gastropoda: Neritidae) on Sonneratia pioneer zone at Sosobok River, Kao Bay, Halmahera". In: Biological Systems of Mangroves, a Report of East Indonesian Mangrove Expedition, 1986. eds. K Ogino & M Chihara, Ehime University, 59-65. * https://archive.org/stream/systematischesco210mart#page/192/mode/2up/ {{Taxonbar, from=Q24551097 Neritidae Gastropods described in 1831 Taxa named by René Lesson