Test your GALS knowledge!

[coyote]

A Brazilian malacologist asks, "Can distinguish the giant African snail of other terrestrial species?"

Below are presented 10 photographs of terrestrial snails:

Test your knowledge:

Identify the exotic giant African snail illustrated between the photos ... and answer !

noticias-malacologicas-am.webnode.pt/news/can-distinguish-the-african-snail-of-other-terrestrial-species-/

[iloncia]

Thank you, coyote for always finding new snail related material on the web.

Is only one picture correct answer or a few?

[latebloomer]

I'm not sure how to answer the question but I would like one of each and two of the one climbing the curtain!

[coyote]

One looks like a tree snail to me, but I'm at a loss to say anything about the others. I don't know what the correct answers are. I thought you guys would know!

[Kevin]

I definitely know one as its my picture (the Megalobulimus.) Theres also a fulica amongst them, and Orthalicus sp. not sure about the others though.

edit: Reading the site I just noticed its to identify the African species, its Achatina fulica, the 6th picture down the page.

[latebloomer]

Oh I see now, spot the invasive foreign species - sort of Slimewatch?

[brunni]

It seems we agree the fuli is in pos. 6, the others are south American species with Megalobulimus in pos. 7 and 9.

I personally have an axe to grind with this site as they also host images of an immature Megalobolinus and write on the photo "Achatina ?". Before I complained it was "Achatina".
projetocaramujoafricano.blogspot.com/2011/10/participe-da-pesquisa-do-pdpm-do.html

After some correspondence ( and the excuse that there may have been some "contamination of eggs") they did post my (edited) mail, but the pics are still on line which only perpetuates the confusion they initiated.
noticias-malacologicas-am.webnode.pt/news/consulta-identidade-de-caracol-terrestre-/

I am interested to see a pic of this live animal of "Achatina?" !

[coyote]

What on earth does "contamination of eggs" mean? Eggs of two species getting mixed together? Different species interbreeding? Alien abduction?

[brunni]

Contamination of eggs means just that - Megalobolinus ova got mixed with fuli ova during some kind of research in Uruguay ( may have been Paraguay ), and when the "fuli eggs" hatched they looked suspiciously like Megalobolinus. Then a picture was taken of one of these juvenile shells and claimed it was an Achatina fulica.

Why nobody stopped to think that this was kinda strange before going online ?

[coyote]

Ah, I see, the eggs got mixed together. That seems a little careless to me, especially if the species were being raised separately.