| Bulimulus bonariensis | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Stylommatophora |
| Family: | Bulimulidae |
| Subfamily: | Bulimulinae |
| Genus: | Bulimulus |
| Species: | B. bonariensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Bulimulus bonariensis (Rafinesque, 1833) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Bulimulus bonariensis, the ghost Bulimulus, is a species of terrestrial snail in the family Bulimulidae. [1] [2]
These snails can reach approximately 2.5 cm in total length. [3] Their shells are narrow and pointed with 5-7 whorls and are white or light yellowish brown in color. Sometimes the shell is marked with darker lines. The soft body is white or off-white, with darker gray pigmentation along the eyestalks.
Bulimulus bonariensis is native to southeastern South America, including Uruguay, northeastern Argentina, southern Paraguay, and the Atlantic coastal forests of Brazil from Rio Grande do Sul at least as far north as Espírito Santo state. [1] There are also scattered records from northern South America (Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela) and Central America (Panama, Nicaragua). [1]
Bulimulus bonariensis has been introduced to the southeastern United States and is spreading rapidly. As of January 2024 it is widespread throughout Florida and coastal Alabama and around Houston, Texas, with scattered records from coastal Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisiana as well as around Austin and College Station, Texas, and in several other areas of eastern and southern Texas, as well as in Coahuila and Nuevo León. [1]
These snails were first reported in Florida in the Jacksonville area in 2009 and had reached the western Florida panhandle by 2017. [3]
Eggs are buried in the soil, usually in clutches containing 40 eggs at a time. [4] Neonates will hatch from their soft, gelatinous shells about 2 weeks after laying. The shells are whitish but will turn brown a few days before hatching. [4]
Adults are protogynous hermaphrodites, meaning female reproductive organs develop first followed by male reproductive organs. At full sexual maturity the snail is a simultaneous hermaphrodite. [5] They can live for a little over one to three years and will start reproducing at 6 months old or approximately 12-17 mm in length. [4] Most reproduction takes place in the spring within their native range. [5]
The normal diet is dead and decaying plant matter. They tend to aggregate in moist microhabitats. [6]
Bulimulus bonariensis is an emerging crop pest. [3] Concerns include interfering with irrigation equipment by covering microjets [7] and being sucked into peanut harvesting equipment, causing contamination. [3] It does not normally consume crops, but may feed on crop plants at sites of previous damage (e.g., from frost or other herbivores) or on seedlings. [7] Like other successful invasive species, high reproductive capacity, a generalist diet, and release from co-evolved enemies have probably contributed to its spread. [3] They are apparently eaten by Limpkins. [8]
Bulimulus bonariensis was originally described as Siphalomphix bonariensis by Rafinesque in 1833. The type locality is north-eastern Argentina. [2] [9]
The following subspecies are recognised:
The specific epithet bonariensis means 'from Buenos Aires, Argentina'.
A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name snail is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have a coiled shell that is large enough for the animal to retract completely into. When the word "snail" is used in this most general sense, it includes not just land snails but also numerous species of sea snails and freshwater snails. Gastropods that naturally lack a shell, or have only an internal shell, are mostly called slugs, and land snails that have only a very small shell are often called semi-slugs.
Aplysiidae is the only family in the superfamily Aplysioidea, within the clade Anaspidea. These animals are commonly called sea hares because, unlike most sea slugs, they are often quite large, and when they are underwater, their rounded body shape and the long rhinophores on their heads mean that their overall shape resembles that of a sitting rabbit or hare. Sea hares are however sea snails with shells reduced to a small plate hidden between the parapodia, and some species are extremely large. The Californian black sea hare, Aplysia vaccaria is arguably the largest living gastropod species, and is certainly the largest living heterobranch gastropod.
Triplofusus giganteus, commonly known as the Florida horse conch, or the giant horse conch, is a species of extremely large predatory subtropical and tropical sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Fasciolariidae, the spindle snails, tulip snails and their allies. On average, it weighs over 11 pounds (5.0 kg).
Cornu aspersum, known by the common name garden snail, is a species of land snail in the family Helicidae, which includes some of the most familiar land snails. Of all terrestrial molluscs, this species may well be the most widely known. It was classified under the name Helix aspersa for over two centuries, but the prevailing classification now places it in the genus Cornu.
Lissachatina fulica is a species of large land snail that belongs in the subfamily Achatininae of the family Achatinidae. It is also known as the Giant African land snail. It shares the common name "giant African snail" with other species of snails such as Achatina achatina and Archachatina marginata. This snail species has been considered a significant cause of pest issues around the world. It is a federally prohibited species in the USA, as it is illegal to sell or possess. Internationally, it is the most frequently occurring invasive species of snail.
Stylommatophora is an order of air-breathing land snails and slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. This taxon includes most land snails and slugs. Stylommatophorans lack an operculum, but some close their shell apertures with temporary "operculum" (epiphragm) made of calcified mucus. They have two pairs of retractile tentacles, the upper pair of which bears eyes on the tentacle tips. All stylommatophorans are hermaphrodites.
The flamingo tongue snail is a species of small but brightly colored sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Ovulidae, the ovulids, cowry allies or false cowries.
Bulimulidae is a taxonomic family of medium-sized to large, air-breathing, tropical and sub-tropical land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Orthalicoidea.
Bulimulus is a genus of small to medium-sized tropical or sub-tropical, air-breathing land snails, pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Bulimulinae within the family Bulimulidae.
A land snail is any of the numerous species of snail that live on land, as opposed to the sea snails and freshwater snails. Land snail is the common name for terrestrial gastropod mollusks that have shells. However, it is not always easy to say which species are terrestrial, because some are more or less amphibious between land and fresh water, and others are relatively amphibious between land and salt water.
Discus rotundatus, common name rotund disc, is a species of small, air-breathing, land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Discidae, the disk snails.
Theba pisana, common names the white garden snail, sand hill snail, white Italian snail, Mediterranean coastal snail, and simply just the Mediterranean snail, is an edible species of medium-sized, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Helicidae, the typical snails.
Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word slug is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced shell, or only a small internal shell, particularly sea slugs and semi-slugs.
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. South American in origin, this species is considered to be in the top 100 of the "World's Worst Invasive Alien Species". It is also ranked as the 40th worst alien species in Europe and the worst alien species of gastropod in Europe.
Vetigastropoda is a major taxonomic group of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks that form a very ancient lineage. Taxonomically the Vetigastropoda are sometimes treated as an order, although they are treated as an unranked clade in Bouchet and Rocroi, 2005.
Vermicularia knorrii, commonly known as the Florida worm snail, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod in the family Turritellidae. V. knorrii has been concluded to be the junior synonym to Vermicularia lumbricalis. The shell of Florida worm snail is light brown or tan in color with an apex that is white. It is found living in reefs on the coasts of the southern states of the United States to the top of South America. V. knorri use their ciliated appendages to trap plankton and sperm.
Bulimulus tenuissimus is a species of tropical air-breathing land snail, a pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the subfamily Bulimulinae.
Turbonilla interrupta, common name the interrupted turbonille, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pyramidellidae, the pyrams and their allies.
Drymaeus tripictus is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Bulimulidae.
Thylacodes variabilis is a species of worm snail common in the rocky intertidal in Hawaiʻi and the tropical Pacific.
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