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69. Hihiwai
Scientific name: Neretina granosa Sowerby, 1825 Classification: Kingdom: Animalia: Phylum: Mollusca. Class: Gastropoda. Family: Neritidae Origin: Endemic Status: Relatively common Distribution: Streams and low-salinity tide pools on the main islands Sound file: -- Map: -- These small freshwater snails (black with knobby bumps above; orange underneath) eat freshwater algae by scraping them off rocks with a single tooth called a radula. Adults live in streams from sea level to about 1200 feet in elevation, but the babies grow up in oceans. They swim upstream as they mature, settling on boulders. Hawaiians also called these snails wi (= “famine”) and ate them when food was scarce. |
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Photo by Ronald Englund |