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Post by brunni on Nov 28, 2011 17:51:07 GMT
 Greetings from tiger land ! Yes, I am on a visit to Ghana ! ;D At the weekend I visited an old friend who lives near Cape Three Points in the western region. He had recently collected some A. achatina forms on the banks of the Nyang River ( which were eaten ) and he kept me the shells.  This is a sample of 5 shells I got. The larger one in the photo is about 6 1/2 " ( abt. 16.5 cms ). Strange thing is the columellas are almost totally devoid of pink color. In the smaller shell the columella is ivory white, the same color as the aperture, with the darker external pattern showing through partially in the upper third. It agrees very well with the description of : Achatina achatina f. togoensis Bequaert & Clench, 1934 The larger shell on the right is pretty similar but has a hint of peach color on the lower third of the columella edge. No need to ask where I'll be next weekend !  
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coyote
Archachatina papyracea
Cochleas ego amo
Posts: 2,955
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Post by coyote on Nov 29, 2011 10:21:51 GMT
Lucky you, in tiger snail land! I am envious.  I have never heard of Achatina achatina togoensis. Togo and Ghana are neighbors and I'm sure share similar habitats, so it makes sense. I suppose you've only seen the shells and not the live animals? If you do see the actual snails, please take lots of pics! |
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Post by brunni on Nov 29, 2011 11:30:03 GMT
Yep, Achatina achatina togoensis is a form of tiger shell, its right here : www.petsnails.co.uk/images/species/achatina/achatina/subspecies.jpg2nd one down on the left side, not sure about the spelling though. Here's its spelt togensis ( with 2 dots above the e ). As far as I know the subspecies was described after specimens collected in Togo ( or Togoland). In German language there does not exist the letter e with 2 dots above it. |
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coyote
Archachatina papyracea
Cochleas ego amo
Posts: 2,955
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Post by coyote on Nov 30, 2011 5:39:56 GMT
I had no idea there were so many subspecies. I wonder if the spelling "togënsis" on that web page is an error and should be togoënsis, as in from Togo? Or maybe the second "o" is dropped when it occurs before another vowel? There is so much I don't know about binomial naming conventions.  |
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Post by heydihoo on Nov 30, 2011 9:57:18 GMT
What a fantastic find! The first thing I noticed on the pictures was the columella colour wasn't pink as I have mentioned before in captivity there isn't enough emphesis on tiger snail sub species as there is with all the others which confuses me quite a bit
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Post by brunni on Nov 30, 2011 16:34:22 GMT
Yea, that's the neat thing about these guys : no pink columella !Even the 2 known albino-shelled forms of A. achatina ( f. monochromatica Pilsbury, 1904 and f. depravata Bequaert, 1950 ) have pink columellas. This last week I seen hundreds and hundreds of tigers, and they all got pink columellas. |
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Post by brunni on Dec 8, 2011 22:53:47 GMT
here's another view of that tiger without pink columella  Unfortunately I didn't get the time yet to go back there, but its pretty dry & dusty these days so not good for tiger hunting. |
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Post by brunni on Dec 9, 2011 11:41:37 GMT
Seems quite a few species are named after the country Togo ( or Togoland ). Here is a sample I found on the internet :
- Amietophrynus togoensis is a species of toad in the Bufonidae family
- The Togo Paradise-whydah (Vidua togoensis) is a species of bird in the Viduidae family. It is found in Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mali, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
- Panaspis togoensis WERNER, 1902 is a species of lizard found in West Africa ( Togo Lidless Skink ).
Note the spelling. Seems probable therefore that the correct spelling of this form of tiger is Achatina achatina togoensis.
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coyote
Archachatina papyracea
Cochleas ego amo
Posts: 2,955
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Post by coyote on Dec 9, 2011 22:29:23 GMT
I have suspected that togoensis is the correct spelling.
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Post by brunni on Feb 7, 2012 9:58:59 GMT
Another specimen from a near-by locality this one is 152mm long. Again, no pink columella ! ;D ;D ;D  Here's detail of the columella area. The paretial shield is white ( not pink ) with the dark pattern visible through the nacre. The columella is slightly peach colored ( again not pink ) on a small area towards the base.  |
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Post by brunni on Aug 14, 2012 12:25:58 GMT
 Achatina achatina togoensis ( no pink columella ) shell 143mm found near Ankassa River, south-west Ghana. |
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Greetings from tiger land ! Yes, I am on a visit to Ghana ! ;D
