These snails simultaneously have a gill and a lung as functional respiratory structures, which are separated by a division of the mantle cavity.

[1] A cladogram showing phylogenic relations of 6 genera belonging to Ampullariidae was proposed by Jørgensen and colleagues in 2008.

It is part of the snail's natural behaviour to leave the water when the food supply below the surface becomes inadequate.

Several apple snail genera (Pomacea, Pila and Asolene/Pomella) deposit eggs above the waterline in calcareous clutches that can be recognized by their light pink color.

Another anti-predator adaptation in the apple snail genera Pomacea and Pila, is the tubular siphon, used to breathe air while submerged, reducing vulnerability to attacking birds.

[citation needed] Apple snails are more active and lively in the higher part of this temperature range.

[14] It was thought that such food culture could provide valuable proteins for farmers, who primarily live on a rice diet.

Instead of becoming a valuable food source, the introduced snails escaped and became a serious threat to rice production and the native ecosystems.

During the 1980s the introduced snails rapidly spread to Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia,[15] Hong Kong, southern China, Japan and the Philippines.

[16] Nevertheless, apple snails are considered a delicacy in several regions of the world, and they are often sold in East and Pacific Asian markets for consumption.

[citation needed] In Veracruz, Mexico, there is a subspecies of apple snail known as Pomacea patula catemacensis Baker, 1922.

Only wild or specifically cultured apple snails are fit for human consumption; those found in domestic aquaria may be unsuitable.