Sinotaia quadrata
Sinotaia quadrata is a species of a freshwater snail with a gill and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Viviparidae. Subspecies. Subspecies within this species include: Distribution. This species is found in This species is also known from Upper Pleistocene of China. Ecology. Habitat. The habitat of "Sinotaia quadrata" are rivers and lakes. The pollution tolerance value is 6 (on scale 0–10; 0 is the best water quality, 10 is the worst water quality). Feeding habits. "Sinotaia quadrata" feeds on epiphytic algae. "Sinotaia quadrata histrica" snails predate also on eggs of bluegill "Lepomis macrochirus". Life  cycle. "Sinotaia quadrata" has strong fecundity. Parasites. Parasites of "Sinotaia quadrata" (also of "Bellamya quadrata lapillorum" (Heude)) include trematode "Aspidogaster conchicola". Human use. "Sinotaia quadrata" is common animal food used in aquaculture to feed fish black carp in China. This species is also eaten by humans. In Isan, Thailand they are collected by hand or with a handnet from canals, swamps, ponds and flooded rice paddy fields during the rainy season. During the dry season, snails live under dried mud. Collectors use a spade to scrape the ground to find and catch them. Generally they are collected by both men  and women. The snails are then cleaned and cooked in a curry. They are also parboiled in salted water and eat together with green papaya salad. References. This article incorporates CC-BY-2.0 text from reference.