Interest in the golden apple snail (Pomacea canaliculata
Lamarck, 1828) as a food resource and gourmet export item
was noted as the basis of its introduction into the Philippines
[1]. That this initiative did not succeed is a common
knowledge. Facts of the invasive character of the species
became evident after it was seen to cause serious damage to
the rice fields following its probable escape or release into
the wild [2]. The issue however is crossing national borders
such that measures are taken to address the problem [3], [4].
Conchological characters in molluscs are primarily useful
in identifying taxonomic groups as well as clarifying issues
on populations within a given taxon [5]-[7]. However, there
are findings that could show that these characters could
provide visual links between environmental factors and
development thus increasing understanding of a species. For
instance, a study on the Roman snail (Helixpomatia) shows
that heavy metal accumulation in the hepatopancreas could
affect shell height, relative shell height and whorl number
[8]. Other indications of environmental influence on
conchological characters are shown in shell shape spectrum
in Margaritiferamargaritifera(L.) with river water pH and
with current for Semisulcospirareinniana [9], [10]. In P.
canaliculata, banding pattern is a conchological character with ontogenetic and ecophenotypic components; attributes
of the character being color, intensity, number and width of
bands [11]. This study was also directed towards the same
issue but in the local in situ setting. The relationship
between selected environmental factors and some
measurable aspects of shell band pattern in P. canaliculata
were addressed. The empirical observations presented here
might be useful as reference for future studies.