Colors in Pomacea canaliculata

        While P. bridgesii is the most diversly colored species of apple snail, different color forms of other species certainly do exist. The most common are in the spcies P. canaliculata and Marisa cornuarietis. The following colors exist in P. canaliculata:

• Wild Type - yellow/brown shell base, dark brown stripes, dark-ish body.
• Golden - yellow/brown shell base, no stripes, lighter than normal body.
• Golden (albinistic) - yellow/horn colored shell base, no stripes, truely albinistic body (no spots) and clear eyes.
• Dark Yellow - yellow/brown shell base, dark body, no stripes.
• "Red Bodied" Dark Yellow - this color has no official name, but the they resemble the dark yellow coloration, except that there is heavy red pigmentation all over the body, particularly on the eyes, top of the head, and usually the top of the foot. The "snout" is usually black and white mottled. The eyes are very striking, with a black "pupil" surrounded by a thin but bright yellow ring of color.

A Wile Type canaliculata. Note the yellow-green coloration; this varies among Wild Type canaliculats. Image contributed by Nannasmom.

A golden albinistic canaliculata (same individual in both pictures). Note that the "golden" shell darkens in the older growth to more of a horn color. Only young animals have a solid very light gold shell.

A non-albinistic golden canaliculata. Note that most young wild-type canaliculatas will also look like this, with "spots" instead of stripes. However, on this individual, the spots are due to internal organs showing through rather than actual pigment in the shell.

An unnamed type of golden canaliculata ("red bodied" dark yellow). These snails exibit an unusual amount of red and yellow pigment, especially around the head and eyes; note the two red patches on the top of this one's head. The eyes are very distinctive, with a deep blue "pupil" surrounded by a narrow bright yellow ring (either in the eye itself or the surrounding tissue, I am not sure which). The reason for this is not yet understood, and neither is its inheritance pattern.