Hawaii Biological Survey’s

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93. Cannibal Snail

Scientific name: Euglandina rosea

Hawaiian Name: —

Classification: Phylum: Mollusca. Class: Gastropoda: Family: Spiraxidae.

Origin: Introduced in 1955.

Status: Common.

Distribution: Kaua‘i, O‘ahu, Moloka‘i, Hawai‘i.

Map: —


This predaceous snail was introduced in a failed effort to get rid of the introduced Giant African Snail (see Card No. 58), which was ruining our crops. But instead of feasting on the big snail, the cannibal snail found better eating on our native land snails. Its voracious appetite is believed to have led to reduced populations of many species here in Hawai‘i as well as other parts of the Pacific where it was introduced.

   Photo © William P. Mull