''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 ...

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 Aquatic means relating to water; living in or near water or taking place in water; does not include groundwater, as "aquatic" implies an environment where plants and animals live. Aquatic(s) may also refer to: * Aquatic animal, either vertebrate ...

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 Ampullariidae, whose members are commonly known as apple snails, is a family of large freshwater snails that includes the mystery snail species. They are aquatic gastropod mollusks with a gill and an operculum. These snails simultaneously h ...

". 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 ''Pomacea baeri'' is a South American species of freshwater snail in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails. Its possible synonymy with '' Pomacea glauca'' is unresolved. Distribution ''P. baeri'' is endemic to Peru Peru, officially t ...

'' (Dautzenberg, 1902) * ''

Pomacea glauca ''Pomacea glauca'' is a species of freshwater snail, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails. The species varies greatly in color, shape and size, growing to around 70 mm. Its colors include a pale yellow ...

'' (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 ''Pomacea'' is a genus of freshwater snails with gills and an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails. The genus is native to the Americas; most species in this genus are restricted to South America. ...

'' (Reeve, 1856) * ''

Pomacea aurostoma ''Pomacea aurostoma'' is a South American species of freshwater snail with gills and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusc in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails. Distribution The native distribution of ''P. aurostoma'' is Colombia ...

'' (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''"
The apple snail website, Accessed 12 May 2011. * ''

Pomacea catamarcensis ''Pomacea catamarcensis'' is a South American species of freshwater snail with gills and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusc in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails. Distribution ''P. catamarcensis'' is endemic to Peru Peru, ...

'' (Sowerby, 1874) * ''

Pomacea columbiensis ''Pomacea columbiensis'' is a species of freshwater snail in the family Ampullariidae. It is native to Colombia, found in the Magdalena and Cauca rivers, and Ecuador, in the Pastaza River The Pastaza River (, formerly known as the SumataraEn ...

'' (Philippi, 1851) * ''

Pomacea columellaris ''Pomacea columellaris'' is a South American species of freshwater snail in the apple snail family, ''Ampullariidae''. Taxonomy ''Pomacea columellaris'' was originally described as ''Ampullaria columellaris'' by Augustus Addison Gould in 1848, ...

'' (Gould, 1848) * ''

Pomacea commissionis ''Pomacea comissionis'' is a species of freshwater snail in the family Ampullariidae. It was first described by Hermann von Ihering in 1898 as a variety (i.e., subspecies) of '' Ampullaria decussata''. It is known from Iguape Iguape is a munici ...

'' (Ihering, 1898) * '' Pomacea cousini'' (Jousseaume, 1877) * ''

Pomacea cumingii ''Pomacea cumingii'' is a species of freshwater snail in the family Ampullariidae. It is native to Saboga. A non-native population has been found in Puerto Rico. Two subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies ...

'' (P. P. King & Broderip, 1831) * ''

Pomacea decussata ''Pomacea decussata'' is a species of freshwater snail in the family Ampullariidae. It was first described by Stéfano Moricand as ''Ampullaria decussata'' in 1836. '' Pomacea commissionis'' was originally considered a subspecies In Tax ...

'' (Moricand) * ''

Pomacea diffusa ''Pomacea diffusa'', common name the spike-topped apple snail or Mystery Snail, is a species of freshwater snail, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails. Taxonomy ''Pomacea diffusa'' was originally describ ...

'' Blume, 1957 * ''

Pomacea doliodes ''Pomacea doliodes'' is a species of freshwater snail, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Ampullariidae Ampullariidae, whose members are commonly known as apple snails, is a family of large freshwater snails that includes the myster ...

'' (Reeve, 1856) * '' Pomacea eximia'' (Dunker, 1853) * ''

Pomacea falconensis ''Pomacea falconensis'' is a South American species of freshwater snail with gills and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Ampullariidae. Distribution The native distribution of this snail is Venezuela Venezuela, of ...

'' Pain & Arias, 1958 * '' Pomacea fasciata'' (Roissy, 1805) * '' Pomacea flagellata'' (Say, 1827) * ''

Pomacea haustrum ''Pomacea haustrum'', common name the titan applesnail, is a species of large freshwater snail with an operculum (gastropod), operculum, an Aquatic animal, aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Ampullariidae, the applesnails. Original descrip ...

'' (Reeve, 1856) * '' Pomacea hollingsworthi'' (Pain, 1946) * '' Pomacea lineata'' (Spix, 1827) * '' Pomacea maculata'' Perry, 1810 - synonyms: ''Ampullaria gigas'' Spix, 1827; ''Pomacea insularum'' (D'Orbigny, 1839)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) * '' Pomacea papyracea'' (Spix, 1827) * '' Pomacea pealiana'' (Lea, 1838) * '' Pomacea poeyana'' (Pilsbry, 1927)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) * ''

Pomacea scalaris ''Pomacea scalaris'' is a species of freshwater snail of the Ampullariidae ("apple snails") family. It was described by Alcide d'Orbigny in 1835. It is found in Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, Brasil, and Uruguay. It is invasive in Taiwan. First do ...

'' (D'Orbigny, 1835) * '' Pomacea sinamarina'' (Bruguière, 1792) * ''

Pomacea urceus ''Pomacea urceus'' is a species of freshwater gastropod in the family Ampullariidae Ampullariidae, whose members are commonly known as apple snails, is a family of large freshwater snails that includes the mystery snail species. They are ...

'' (Müller, 1774) * '' Pomacea vexillum'' (Reeve, 1856) * '' Pomacea zischkai'' (Blume & Pain, 1952)

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 ''

'' (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