27 August 2009

Ellobium - a mangrove snail: in Nature in Singapore

The Belongkeng (Ellobium sp.) is a large olive-shaped snail that is sometimes seen, especially in our undisturbed mangroves. Although huge, they are often well camouflaged.
One of them, Ellobium aurismalchi is listed as Critically endangered in the Red List of Singapore's threatened animals.

But are the snails we call Ellobium aurismalchi something else?

This latest paper in Nature in Singapore concludes that it is more appropriate to call these snails Ellobium scheepmakeri.

Currently, there is presumably only one single remnant population of this snail in Mandai. The authors suggest that the least we can do to ensure the survival of any species is the continued preservation of their habitats.

Read the paper on Nature in Singapore: "On Ellobium aurismalchi (Müller, 1774) (Mollusca: Ellobiidae)". S. K. Tan, S. H. Tan and M. E. Y. Low. Pp. 357–359. [PDF, 111 KB]

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