New record of freshwater snail Melanoides tuberculata (Müller, 1774) (Mollusca, Gastropoda) inhabiting Teary Spring, Wadi Aideib at Elba National Park, Egypt

This research is a part of exploration both terrestrial and aquatic biotopes in southeastern Egypt. Gebel Elba natural protectorate is unlike any other area of Egypt in terms of its biodiversity. Elba Mountain also boasts a lot of magnificent natural springs and wells. One of the interesting tourist attractions is Teary Spring located at 22°12'51" N, 36°22'52" E. To our knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate that freshwater snail red-rimmed Melania Melanoides tuberculata may be found in a mountain spring at a high altitude at Wadi Aideib. On the spring bed, the snails were observed during a scientific Saharan survey to Elba natural protected area. They were then collected and transported alive to the lab for identification. Using a caliper, some morphometric measurements were conducted, including shell height, shell weight, aperture length, aperture weight and whorls count. Additionally, identification guides were applied to identify the snails. The result indicates that the snail species is red-rimmed Melania Melanoides tuberculata that belongs to thiarids gastropod. The average length is about 13.97 mm, 4.32 mm shell width and 8 whorls. The findings of this study strongly suggest further research into Melanoides tuberculata distribution and its link to environmental changes in various habitats.