Giant African Snail — LANGE 
325 
Average specimens are smaller than on 
Guam, ranging from 2.5 inches to 3.75 
inches long. Differences in markings are 
shown in Figure 1. The shell whorls have 
transverse striations and microscopic, spiral 
striae. The animal is gray-tan to black. 
Shells often show whitening and, in some 
individuals, complete loss of color. This con- 
dition was .quite prevalent on parts of Rota. 
Many shells show scratching of the surfaces 
as if caused by burrowing in the soil or by 
crawling under objects on the surface of the 
soil. On Saipan an abnormal condition of 
many shells was observed, namely, the pres- 
ence of a thin, paper-like shell, easily broken 
by handling. Shells of normal thickness are 
found in the same area, but there are areas, 
such as Marpi Point on the north end of the 
island, where normal shells are more com- 
monly found. This condition could be a 
genetic one concerned with carbonate meta- 
bolism, or could be a result of the availabil- 
ity of carbonates in particular areas. 
LIFE' HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT 
Inasmuch as the life history and develop- 
ment of the snail on Saipan deviates to some 
extent from other published reports, a few 
salient records will be cited. Jarrett (1931: 
263 ) reported that in China the African snail 
laid 100 eggs the first year, 200 to 300 eggs 
the end of the second year, and produced 
1,000 eggs during a 3 -year period. He stated 
that in Malaya egg laying occurred during 
March, April, and May. The same writer 
stated that in Borneo eggs were laid in Octo- 
ber, and probably throughout the year. 
Green (1911:43) concluded that Achatina 
fulica reached full growth in 2 years, but 
were sexually mature in 1 year, at which time 
they were about half grown. He did not re- 
cord a maximum number of eggs, but stated 
that each snail deposited at least 100 eggs 
the first year and 500 the second year. 
Pilsbry (1919:60-61) described the Acha- 
tinae as oviparous, laying as many as 196 
eggs in loose soil just beneath the surface. 
The fact that Archachatina marginata lays 
eggs in trees is mentioned by Tryon and Pils- 
bry (1904:205). 
D. B. Langford (personal communication) 
recorded the time interval from egg to sex- 
ual maturity as 147 days on Guam. Measure- 
ments of Langford’s reared specimens on 
deposit at the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ As- 
sociation Experiment Station, Honolulu, are 
tabulated here: 
AGE 
NUMBER 
OF WHORLS 
LENGTH 
weeks 
mm. 
1 
3 
5 
2 
3.5 
8 
3 
4 
12 
4 
5.5 
26 
5 
6.5 
34 
6 
6.5 
40 
7 
7.5 
63 
Mead (1949:40) recorded male sexual 
maturity before the snail is a year old; devel- 
opment of female organs and egg deposition 
takes a few months longer. The same author 
also reported retention of the eggs inside the 
uterus so that eggs hatched within a few 
hours, but this phenomenon was not observed 
during the present observations. 
On Saipan the eggs are nearly globular, 
approximately 4 mm. by 5 mm. in size, white 
when first laid but later turning yellowish. 
When first laid they are covered with a clear 
mucus which gives them a glistening appear- 
ance. In a few hours the mucus dries and the 
eggs become a dull white. Eggs are shown 
in Figure 2. 
This snail is hermaphroditic, although re- 
ciprocal mating occurs and both individuals 
lay eggs. Snails mate chiefly at night, but on 
Saipan mating was continued during the day, 
particularly if the weather was rainy or over- 
cast. Snails mating under the protection of 
dense jungle cover or creeping vines often 
continued to mate during the day. Snails 
often started to mate in the late afternoon, 
