3D reconstruction and visualization of the reproductive system of the viviparous crown snail

Through the collaboration of the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) and of YXLON International GmbH, a 3D reconstruction and visualization of the reproductive system of the viviparous crown snail of the Fiji Islands, Fijidoma maculata (Caenogastropoda, Cerithioidea, Thiaridae) were created using CT scans taken by the high-resolution YXLON FF20 CT inspection system. These viviparous freshwater snails are evolutionarily divergent from the rest of the otherwise predominantly egg-laying gastropods. Thiarid snails evolved in freshwater, with only few species also dwelling in brackish-water. Their particular viviparous reproductive strategy is also correlated to other biological phenomena, such as the colonization of new limnic habitats (annidation), diversification of species (speciation), and adaptive radiation.