''Pomacea'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
freshwater snail
Freshwater snails are gastropod mollusks that live in fresh water. There are many different families. They are found throughout the world in various habitats, ranging from ephemeral pools to the largest lakes, and from small seeps and springs t ...
s with
gill
A gill () is a respiration organ, respiratory organ that many aquatic ecosystem, aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow r ...
s and an
operculum,
aquatic gastropod
Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda ().
This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...
mollusk
Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...
s in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails. The genus is native to
the Americas
The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.'' Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sin ...
; most species in this genus are restricted to South America.
In the
aquarium
An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...
trade these snails are sometimes called ''Pomacea'' or incorrectly ''Ampullarius'', and in English as
"
olormystery snail" or "
apple snail".
Some species have been
introduced outside their native range and are considered
invasive because of their voracious appetite for plants. Because of this, imports involving this genus are restricted in some regions (including the United States) and are entirely banned in others (including the
EU).
[Dawes, J. (14 January 2013). ]
International Waters: EU Finally Bans Apple Snail Imports.
'' Retrieved 4 June 2014
Species
Species in the genus ''Pomacea'' include:
subgenus ''Effusa'' Jousseaume, 1889
* ''
Pomacea baeri'' (Dautzenberg, 1902)
* ''
Pomacea glauca'' (Linné, 1758)
* ''
Pomacea quinindensis'' (K. Miller, 1879)
subgenus ''Pomacea'' Perry, 1810
* ''
Pomacea aldersoni'' (Pain, 1946)
[IUCN 2014. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.1]
Downloaded on 01 July 2014.
* ''
Pomacea auriformis'' (Reeve, 1856)
* ''
Pomacea aurostoma'' (Lea, 1856)
* ''
Pomacea bridgesii
''Pomacea bridgesii'', common name the gold Inca snail, spike-topped apple snail or mystery snail, is a South American species of freshwater snail with gills and an Operculum (gastropod), operculum, an Aquatic animal, aquatic gastropod mollusk ...
'' (Reeve, 1856)
* ''
Pomacea camena'' (Pain, 1949)
* ''
Pomacea canaliculata
''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.
S ...
'' (Lamarck, 1819)
["''Pomacea''"](_blank)
The apple snail website, Accessed 12 May 2011.
* ''
Pomacea catamarcensis'' (Sowerby, 1874)
* ''
Pomacea columbiensis'' (Philippi, 1851)
[
* '' Pomacea columellaris'' (Gould, 1848)][
* '' Pomacea eximia'' (Dunker, 1853)][Hayes K. A., Cowie R. H., Thiengo S. C. & Strong E. E. (2012). "Comparing apples with apples: clarifying the identities of two highly invasive Neotropical Ampullariidae (Caenogastropoda)". '']Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society
The ''Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering zoology published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Linnean Society. The editor-in-chief is Maarten Christenhusz (Linnean Society) ...
'' 166(4): 723–753. .
* '' Pomacea megastoma'' (Sowerby I, 1825)
* '' Pomacea ocanensis'' (Kobelt, 1914)[
* '' Pomacea occulta'' (Q.-Q. Yang & X.-P. Yu, 2019)
* '' Pomacea paludosa'' (Say, 1829)][Vázquez A. A. & Perera S. (2010). "Endemic Freshwater molluscs of Cuba and their conservation status". '']Tropical Conservation Science
Mongabay (mongabay.com) is an American conservation news web portal that reports on environmental science, energy, and green design, and features extensive information on tropical rainforests, including pictures and deforestation statistics f ...
'' 3(2): 190–199
HTMPDF
* '' Pomacea prunella'' (Hupé, 1857)
* '' Pomacea reyrei'' (Cousin, 1887)
As invasive species
Because of the potential to destroy aquatic and marsh vegetation in the wild, the European Union has banned all imports of snails from the family Ampullariidae, which includes the genus ''Pomacea''.[
Similarly, the United States prohibits all members of Ampullariidae except one from being imported or transported interstate, except with a permit for the purposes of research. The sole exception to this is '' Pomacea diffusa'' (formerly '' P. bridgesii'') as it is not known to be an agricultural pest.]
References
External links
applesnails of Florida, ''Pomacea'' spp.
on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site
{{Authority control
*
Gastropod genera