Animal field guide
Horned Nerite Snail
Clithon corona
A small nerite snail of coastal streams in the Indo-West Pacific, often carrying a ring of long spines around the shoulder of its dark shell. Its young begin life as drifting larvae carried down to the sea, and the juvenile snails later crawl back upstream into fresh water.
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Marine invertebrate · South Asia · Rocks · Relatively common
Known for: Rounded, Long, Hard shelly lid sealing the D-shaped opening, Flattened
Animal field guide
Horned Nerite Snail
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A small nerite snail of coastal streams in the Indo-West Pacific, often carrying a ring of long spines around the shoulder of its dark shell. Its young begin life as drifting larvae carried down to the sea, and the juvenile snails later crawl back upstream into fresh water.
Native range
Natural range, not this capture location
Rocks, gravel and submerged wood in the lower reaches of short streams and rivers near the coast, in fresh and slightly brackish water. It favours clear, flowing shallows on tropical and subtropical islands and mainland coasts.
Search near meAnimalDex stats
Dominance
1
Speed
2
Size
1
Intelligence
3
Rarity
28%
Total
35
Size scale
STEP 2 · PROVE IT
STEP 3 · BATTLE & FUSE
Understand the animal
Understand the Horned Nerite Snail
Factual biology first: what this animal is like, where it lives, how it survives, and why those traits exist.
01
Introduction to Horned Nerite Snail
A small nerite snail of coastal streams in the Indo-West Pacific, often carrying a ring of long spines around the shoulder of its dark shell. Its young begin life as drifting larvae carried down to the sea, and the juvenile snails later crawl back upstream into fresh water.
How to identify a Horned Nerite Snail
- Rounded, dark olive to black shell roughly one to two centimetres across
- Long, pointed spines on the shell shoulder in many individuals
- Hard shelly lid sealing the D-shaped opening
- Flattened, pale inner lip across the shell opening
Why Horned Nerite Snail are interesting
- It is sold in the aquarium trade as the horned nerite, where it is kept to graze algae from glass and stones.
- In aquaria it often climbs above the waterline, and tanks without a close-fitting lid can lose snails that crawl out.
- The tip of the spire is frequently eroded in older shells, exposing chalky material beneath the dark outer layer.
- Spines can break off or wear down, so an old or damaged shell may show only short stumps.
02
Adaptations and biological abilities
03
Why does Horned Nerite Snail behave this way?
- Rounded, dark olive to black shell roughly one to two centimetres across
- Long, pointed spines on the shell shoulder in many individuals
- Hard shelly lid sealing the D-shaped opening
- Flattened, pale inner lip across the shell opening
A distinct rest cycle has not been documented for this species. It appears to graze by day and by night, and may stay motionless on rocks for long periods when the water level drops.
04
Why Rocks?
Habitat: Rocks, gravel and submerged wood in the lower reaches of short streams and rivers near the coast, in fresh and slightly brackish water. It favours clear, flowing shallows on tropical and subtropical islands and mainland coasts.
Native range: South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, Australia & Oceania, Indian Ocean, North Pacific, Coral Triangle, Southeast Asia Coastal, Australia Coastal
Native range
Natural range, not this specific capture location.
Some regional overlays are unavailable in this web build.
Rocks, gravel and submerged wood in the lower reaches of short streams and rivers near the coast, in fresh and slightly brackish water. It favours clear, flowing shallows on tropical and subtropical islands and mainland coasts.
05
Why this diet?
Grazes the film of algae, diatoms and bacteria coating stones and wood, scraping it off with a ribbon of fine teeth, the radula, while crawling slowly over the surface.
06
Activity, rest, and lifespan
A distinct rest cycle has not been documented for this species. It appears to graze by day and by night, and may stay motionless on rocks for long periods when the water level drops.
Wild years of Clithon corona are unpublished; aquarium keepers commonly report two to five years, figures that stay anecdotal.
07
Horned Nerite Snail reproduction
The sexes are separate and fertilisation is internal. Females glue small, white egg capsules to hard surfaces, often including the shells of other snails. Free-swimming larvae hatch from them and receive no parental care.
Males and females look alike; the sexes cannot be told apart by the shell.
08
Predators, threats, and defense
09
Conservation and rarity
Rarity: Relatively common · 28/100. AnimalDex canonical rarity score: 28/100, maintained by the live indexed species profile.
- Observe from a respectful distance and avoid changing the animal's behavior.
- Do not block feeding, shelter, nesting, or travel routes.
- Use a live camera capture without handling or staging wildlife.
Speak to the animal
Speak to the Horned Nerite Snail
It answers as itself: ask about how it lives, or bring it something of yours and hear what it would do, from its own Power.
Anonymous: 3/day. Signed-in: 10/day. Pro: 100/day.
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Compare the Horned Nerite Snail
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Where to find them
Where to find Horned Nerite Snail
To find Horned Nerite Snail in the wild, focus on the exact habitat patches that match its body design and daily behavior, not just the broad country where it exists. You usually do better by working one good piece of habitat inside south Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, Australia & Oceania, Indian Ocean, North Pacific, Coral Triangle, Southeast Asia Coastal, Australia Coastal than by covering too much ground.
- Quiet marsh edges, reedbeds, river bends, or shallow wetland margins
- Headlands, reef edges, island colonies, tidal channels, or productive coastal water
- Protected habitat blocks within south Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, Australia & Oceania, Indian Ocean, North Pacific, Coral Triangle, Southeast Asia Coastal, Australia Coastal
Scientific name
Clithon corona
Category
Marine invertebrate
Habitat
Rocks, gravel and submerged wood in the lower reaches of short streams and rivers near the coast, in fresh and slightly brackish water. It favours clear, flowing shallows on tropical and subtropical islands and mainland coasts.
Rarity
Relatively common · 28/100
Native range
South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, Australia & Oceania, Indian Ocean, North Pacific, Coral Triangle, Southeast Asia Coastal, Australia Coastal
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