Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 10, 2026

Melanoides polymorpha

Melanoides polymorpha is a species of freshwater snail with a gill and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Thiaridae.

Last revised
Jul 10, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
192 w
Citations
5
Source
Melanoides polymorpha
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: incertae sedis
Family: Thiaridae
Genus: Melanoides
Species:
M. polymorpha
Binomial name
Melanoides polymorpha
(E. A. Smith, 1877)2
Synonyms4
  • Melania polymorpha E. A. Smith, 1877
  • Melania tanganyicensis E. A. Smith, 18803

Melanoides polymorpha is a species of freshwater snail with a gill and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Thiaridae.

This species is endemic to Lake Malawi and is found in Malawi, Tanzania, and Mozambique. It is very abundant throughout the lake in the littoral soft sediments.1

References

References

  1. Albrecht, C. (2018). "Melanoides polymorpha". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018 e.T134051244A134051258. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T134051244A134051258.en. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  2. Smith E. A. (1877). "On the shells of Lake Nyasa, and on a few marine species from Mozambique". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1877: 712-722. Plates 74-75. page 714, Plate 55, figure 4-10.
  3. Smith E. A. (1880). "Diagnoses of new shells from Lake Tanganyika and East Africa". Annals and Magazine of Natural History (5)6: 425-430. page 427
  4. Brown D. S. (1994). Freshwater Snails of Africa and their Medical Importance. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0-7484-0026-5.