Golden apple snail

Description

Pomacea canaliculata, commonly known as the golden apple snail or the channeled apple snail, is a species of large freshwater snail with gills and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusc in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails. South American in origin, this species is considered to be in the top 100 of the "World's Worst Invasive Alien Species". It is also ranked as the 40th worst alien species in Europe and the worst alien species of gastropod in Europe. The native distribution of P. canaliculata is basically tropical and subtropical, including Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Brazil. The southernmost record for the species is Paso de las Piedras reservoir, south of the Buenos Aires province, Argentina. This species also occurs in the United States, where the initial introductions were probably from aquarium release, aka "aquarium dumping". The non-indigenous distribution includes: Lake Wawasee in Kosciusko County, Indiana; Langan Park and Three Mile Creek in Mobile, Alabama; a pond bordering the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta in Baldwin County, Alabama; Little Wekiva River, Orlando, Florida; a lake near Jacksonville, Florida; Miramar Reservoir in San Diego County, California; and a pond near Yuma, Arizona. Established populations exist in California and Hawaii. The species has been found in China since 1981. Its initial point of distribution in China was Zhongshan city. The species has been found in Chile since 2009 with a restricted distribution. The species has also been found in the Philippines, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Papua New Guinea, parts of Indonesia and Malaysia, Singapore, and Guam. In 1980, the apple snail was introduced to south-east Asia as a food item and aquarium pet. First, it was introduced to Taiwan, then Japan, then Thailand and the Philippines. Instead of catching on, snails were released or escaped and have become a major agricultural pest. Samples taken 3 December 2020 in Mwea Constituency, Kirinyaga County, Kenya were the first in that country, and indeed the first in continental Africa. The shells of these applesnails are globular in shape. Normal coloration typically includes bands of brown, black, and yellowish-tan; color patterns are extremely variable. Albino and gold color variations exist. The size of the shell is up to 150 millimetres (6 in) in length.