Home > Invertebrates > Shells > Terrestrial > Melanoides tuberculata

Updated 8/20/2026

Family Thiaridae

AFRICA / ASIA / HAWAII

Melanoides tuberculata 



Kanewai Spring, Kuli'ou'ou, Oahu


Niu pond, Oahu

RED-RIM MELANIA

Abundant in freshwater pools and streams where it hides in mud, emerging at night to graze on filamentous algae.  Shells vary from tan to white with reddish brown markings.  Males do not exist since females produce viable eggs without fertilization.  An invasive pest which harbors parasitic trematodes and competes with native snails for algae.  Attains 3 inches.  Native to North Africa and South Asia.

http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?SpeciesID=1037