Hawaii Biological Survey’s

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46. Golden Apple Snail

Scientific name: Pomacea canaliculata

Hawaiian Name: —

Classification: Phylum: Mollusca. Class: Gsatropoda. Family: Ampullaridae

Origin: Introduced.

Status: Thriving.

Distribution: All main islands except Moloka‘i.

Map: —


Originally introduced in 1939 from SE Asia as a possible food source (an exotic escargot), it has since escaped and gotten into taro fields where it casues much damage to the plants by eating stems, corms, and other parts. Elsewhere in the Pacific it is a major pest of rice fields.

 

   Photo by Ron Englund ©HBS