brown point snail vs Cockroach berry

Acicula fusca compared with Solanum capsicoides

Key Differences

  • brown point snail is Extinct while Cockroach berry is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank brown point snail Cockroach berry
Kingdom Animalia (Animals) Plantae (Plants)
Phylum Mollusca (Mollusks) Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class Gastropoda (Gastropoda) Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order Architaenioglossa (Architaenioglossa) Solanales (Solanales)
Family Aciculidae Solanaceae
Genus Acicula Solanum
Species Acicula fusca Solanum capsicoides

Conservation Status

brown point snail

EX — Extinct

Cockroach berry

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute brown point snail Cockroach berry
Diet
Average Lifespan
Average Length
Average Weight

Habitat & Geographic Range

brown point snail

Habitat

Typically found in terrestrial and aquatic habitats including forests and freshwater.

Range

Distributed across Belgium and Norway.

Cockroach berry

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (4 countries), Europe (8 countries), North America (Belize, Saint Kitts and Nevis, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (4 countries), and South America (5 countries).

brown point snail

The Brown Point Snail (Acicula fusca) is a species in the genus Acicula. It is currently classified as Extinct on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in terrestrial and aquatic habitats including forests and freshwater.

Cockroach berry

The cockroach berry (Solanum capsicoides) is a spiny, semi-woody shrub in the family Solanaceae — the nightshade family — native to eastern Brazil but now established as an invasive or naturalised weed throughout the humid tropics, including parts of Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Pacific islands. Growing to about one metre in height, it is armed with sharp, straight prickles on stems, leaves, and even the calyx, making it unpalatable to grazing animals and difficult to control mechanically. The leaves are lobed and pubescent, resembling those of other weedy solanums, and the plant produces clusters of small white flowers with yellow anthers characteristic of the genus. The globose fruits, around two to three centimetres in diameter, are initially green with white marbling and ripen to orange or red; they superficially resemble small chilli peppers or tomatoes but are toxic to humans and most livestock, containing solanine and related steroidal alkaloids. Birds are primary dispersers of the seeds, facilitating the plant's rapid spread in disturbed habitats including roadsides, forest margins, degraded pastures, and abandoned agricultural land. Solanum capsicoides is Not Evaluated on the IUCN Red List, reflecting its status as a common, widespread, and spreading species rather than one of conservation concern. In its invasive range it can form dense monospecific thickets that suppress native vegetation.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

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