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Apple snails, Family Ampullaridae, are well-known and popu-lar aquarium snails throughout the world because of their feed-ing characteristics that clean aquariumsand attractive appearance, shape andsize. Members of the apple snail familyare the biggest living freshwater snailson earth.A common apple snail in aquariumshops is

Pomacea bridgesi

(spike-topped apple snail). The pic-tures shown here illustrate the different shell colors, from brown to albino or yellowand even blue, with or without banding, found in the aquar-ium trade and produced in Florida (a yellow variant isknown in the trade as the “golden mystery snail”). The liv-ing tissue also varies in color from black to yellow or gray.These wonderful combination of colors makes this snail anattractive and interesting addition to hobbyist aquariums.

DACS-P-00085

Snails: A Common Aquarium Product

August 9, 2002; revised August 25, 2006Apple Snail Identifica-tion

U.S. Regulations

1 & 2

Apple Snail Taxonomy

Apple Snail Identifica-tion (continued)

Apple Snail Biology

Florida Prohibited Snails

Apple Snail Biology(continued)

Inside this issue:

Apple Snails

CHARLES H. BRONSONCOMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE

U.S. Regulations concerning Apple Snails

The United States De-partment of Agriculture,Animal and Plant HealthInspection ServiceUSDA-APHIS),implemented ex-isting regulationson April 5, 2006to: 1) require im-porters and inter-state sellers of ma-rine and freshwa-ter aquatic snailsto acquire a three-yearpermit, 2) prohibit theimportation or interstatemovement of

Pomaceacanaliculata, P. glauca,P. haustrum, P. lineate,P. paludosa, P. urceus, Marisa cornuarietis, Pilaampullacea, Pila conica,Pila polita,

and

Lanistesvaricus

, and 3) routinelyinspect shipments of aquatic plantsand aquariumsupplies that maycontain aquaticsnails.A permit requestfor any othergenera or speciesin this familywill be considered byAPHIS on a case-by-casebasis. Interstate movementpermits will be issued for

Pomacea bridgesi

.The USDA permit wassupported by the actions of a variety of states andnations. The State of Mississippi prohibited allmembers of the applesnail family Ampullarii-dae calling them“destructive plant eatingapple snails.” Texas, Ha-waii, California and Lou-isiana have identified

(continued on page 2)

P. canaliculata

yellow phase

P. canaliculata

Shell Morphology

This publication is intendedto educate farmers aboutapple snails, it is not meantto be a guide for definitiveidentification.

apple snail populations have greatlyexpanded throughout the state andanecdotal evidence suggests thatthese snails may effect native aquaticplant populations which are impor-tant habitat for nativefish and wildlife.Ampullariidae species(apple snails) are notprohibited or re-stricted in the State of Florida. Commercialaquaculturists culturing aquaticsnails must annually acquire anAquaculture Certificate of Registra-tion from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services,report the species they areculturing, include theircertificate number on in-voices and packaging,and implement Aquacul-ture Best ManagementPractices.

P. canaliculata

asan agricultural pestthat can negativelyimpact rice, taro andthe production of other aquatic plants.Florida biologistsfirst observed chan-neled apple snails in1987 in the canalsystems south of Lake Okeechobee.Within the past 10 years, channeledApple snails can be con-fused with snails from theFamily Viviparidae. Thesnails from this familylook very similar in shapeand color, but they do lack a lung, a siphon and labialtentacles (the small tenta-cles near the mouth). Incontrast with the egg-laying Ampullariidaesnails, the Viviparidae snails arelive bearing.If a snail grows over four inches,and has somewhat indented sutureslike

P. canaliculata

, then the animalis probably

P. maculata

. This spe-cies is considered to be the largestfreshwater snail on earth. Morecommon, and also rather large, is

P.haustrum

.When the snail has aflat shell and has a sizeover one inch, with orwithout dark stripes, itprobably is

Marisa cor-nuarietis,

giant ram-shorn snail. This snailis not always recog-nized as an apple snaildue to its different ap-pearance.Similar in size andshape to

P. bridgesi

and

P. canaliculata

is an apple snail na-tive to Florida,

P. paludosa

, the Flor-ida apple snail.A quick method for differentiatingapple snails can be based on shellshape. When at-tempting to iden-tify snails ignorethe animal andshell colors whencomparing themwith pictures.Many color varia-tions (shell andbody) exist withina single species(please note the variety of colors foreach species pictured inthis technical bulletin).An excellent source forcolor pictures and aninteractive, three-dimensional representa-tive of each species,please visithttp:// www.apple snail.net.

(continued on page three)

genera

Asolene

Felipponea

Marisa

, and

Pomacea

are theNew World genera (SouthAmerica, Central America,the West Indies and theSouthern United States),while the genera

Afropomus

Lanistes

and

Saulea

are found inAfrica. The genus

Pila

is native inApple snails belong to thephylum Mollusca, class Gas-tropoda (snails), subclass Pro-sobranchia, orderMesogastropoda, family Am-pullariidae (apple snails).The Ampullariidae family isdivided into several genera withabout 120 different species. Theboth Africaand Asia.However,the numberof genera is open to debate andmuch work needs to be done toidentify all species, to rule out themisidentified species and to removesynonymous species.

U.S. Regulations

(continued from page one)

Apple Snail Identification

Apple Snail Taxonomy

PAGE 2 APPLE SNAILS

DACS-P-00085

P. canaliculata

yellow phase

P. canaliculata

egg mass.

P. f. flagellataP. haustrum

The extended siphonallows a submergedapple snail to breathe.

Marisa cornuarietis

The shell of

P. bridgesi,

spike-topped apple snail,

has about 5 to 6whorls. The most obvious charac-teristic of the shell are the squareshoulders (flat at the top of thewhorls) with almost 90° sutures.The shell opening is large and oval,the umbilicus (the deep pit in thecenter of the shell) is large anddeep. The size of the shell variesfrom 40-50 mm wide and 45-65mm high. The spire is high andsharp, hence the common name,spike-topped apple snail.

P. canaliculata,

channeled applesnail, has a globose (round) shelland the shell can be relativelyheavy (especially in older snails).The 5 to 6 whorls are separated bydeep, indented sutures (hence thename 'canaliculata' or 'channeled')that are less than a 90° angle. Theshell opening is large and oval toround. Males are known to have arounder aperture than females. Theumbilicus is large and deep. Thesize of this snail varies from 40 to60 mm wide and 45 to 75 mm high.

P. paludosa,

Florida apple snail, isglobose with a shell opening that islarge and oval. The umbilicus islarge and deep. The overall sizecan vary from 40 to 55 mm wideand 45 to 65 mm high. This applesnail has almost flat sutures withgreater a than 90° angle, whichgives the snail a cone shaped shelltop (spine).seasons. The seasonal abundance of water is reflected in the apple snailsrespiration system: a combinationof both a gill and a lung.Apple snails can remain activethroughout the year or enter periodsof aestivation depending on envi-ronmental conditions. The mainApple snails inhabit a wide range of ecosystems from swamps, ditchesand ponds to lakes and rivers. Mostapple snail species prefer still ratherthan moving water.The respiratory system of the applesnail is highly adapted to tropicalclimates that consist of wet and dryfactors that determine apple snail ac-tivity are temperature, rainfall andfood availability. Temperature andrainfall are the prime determinants.During aestivation apple snails buryin mud and their metabolism slowsdown. Apple snails that inhabit areaswithout a distinctive dry-wet season(continued on page four)

Apple Snail Identification

(continued from page two)

Apple Snail Biology

PAGE 3APPLE SNAILS

DACS-P-00085