The apple snail Pomacea scalaris: a puzzle with many missing piecestentacle

Abstract

Apple snails (family Ampullariidae) are large freshwater gastropods native to tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas, Africa and Asia. Within this family, the genus Pomacea stands out as the most diverse of the nine genera presently recognised. Several species in this genus, particularly Pomacea maculata and Pomacea canaliculata, have been introduced and established in many parts of the world, including Asia, North America, Pacific islands, Africa and Europe, where they have become serious agricultural, environmental, and potential human health pests. These facts have produced a seemingly exponential surge of basic and applied studies around the world, although the majority of them have focused on the two species above.At the Grupo de Ecología, Comportamiento y Evolución de Moluscos de Aguas Continentales GECEMAC), we are commited to obtaining the missing pieces of information to understand P. scalaris better, to help categorise its level of threat according to IUCN criteria and, if necessary, to contribute to its conservation. Laboratory studies to understand its natural history, life cycle and demographic parameters, such as age and size at maturity and fecundity, have already began.