Species Lissachatina fulica (Bowdich, 1822)

Museums

Regional Maps

• Achatina fulica Bowdich, T.E. 1822. Elements of Conchology, including the fossil genera and animals. Part 1. Univalves. Paris : Smith pp. i-xi, 14-73, index 1-3, 19 pls, 2 tables. [pl. 13, fig. 3].

  Type data:

   Holotype lost, Mauritius.

  Type locality references:

  Smith, B.J. 1992. Non-Marine Mollusca. In, Houston, W.W.K. (ed.). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Non-marine Mollusca. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service Vol. 8 xii 408 pp. [89-90].

 

Generic Combinations

• Lissachatina fulica (Bowdich, 1822). —
  Fontanilla, I.K.C. 2010. Achatina (Lissachatina) fulica Bowdich: Its molecular phylogeny, genetic variation in global populations, and its possible role in the spread of the rat lungworm Angiostrongylus cantonensis (Chen). Unpublished PhD Thesis - University of Nottingham; available at http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/11069/1/Fontanilla-2010.pdf. pp. [iii, 268] (changed combination)

 

Miscellaneous Literature Names

• Achatina (Lissachatina) fulica Bowdich, 1822. —
  Smith, B.J. 1992. Non-Marine Mollusca. In, Houston, W.W.K. (ed.). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Non-marine Mollusca. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service Vol. 8 xii 408 pp. [89] (used this name following the work of Bequaert 1950)

 

Introduction

In 1977, Achatina fulica was introduced into the Gordonvale area in northern Queensland, but was successfully eradicated (Colman 1977). More recently, in 2004, a single specimen was found in an industrial area in the Currumbin Valley, southeastern Queensland and was subsequently destroyed. The likelihood of further introductions should not be underestimated, but continued vigilance by biosecurity officers and an adherence to strict inspection protocols should keep the risk of future introductions to a minimum. The Giant African Snail is a major pest of agricultural areas and has a diet which includes almost 500 species of plant, fruits and vegetables.

 

Distribution

States

Queensland

Extra Distribution Information

Tropical East Africa, N of central Mozambique. Introduced through Asia and the Indo-Pacific region. Existed briefly at Gordonvale in NE QLD in the 1970s and in the Currumbin Valley in SE QLD in 2004 but was eradicated on both occasions

Introduced from tropical East Africa.

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IBRA

Qld: South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Wet Tropics (WT)

Distribution References

Ecological Descriptors

Crop, gardens.

Extra Ecological Information

LIves in trees, among litter, soil and debris.

 

Diagnosis

Shell very large, axially banded with white, yellow, brown and olive, elongately ovate, solid; spire pointed, whorls rounded; columella truncate, lip not reflected, aperture white; umbilicus absent; height to 180mm.

 

Diagnosis References

Stanisic, J., Shea, M., Potter, D. & Griffiths, O. 2010. Australian Land Snails. A field guide to eastern Australian species. Mauritius : Bioculture Press Vol. 1 595 pp. [124]

 

General References

Bequaert, J.C. 1950. Studies in the Achatininae, a group of African land snails. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard 105: 1-216 [anatomy]

Colman, P.H. 1977. Full alert for the giant African land snail. North Queensland Naturalist 44(140): 8

Mead, A.R. 1961. The Giant African Snail: A problem in economic malacology. Chicago : Univ. Chicago Press 257 pp.

Smith, B.J. 1992. Non-Marine Mollusca. In, Houston, W.W.K. (ed.). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Non-marine Mollusca. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service Vol. 8 xii 408 pp. [89-90] (as Achatina (Lissachatina) fulica Bowdich, 1822)

Stanisic, J., Shea, M., Potter, D. & Griffiths, O. 2010. Australian Land Snails. A field guide to eastern Australian species. Mauritius : Bioculture Press Vol. 1 595 pp. [124]

 

History of changes

Published	As part of group	Action Date	Action Type	Compiler(s)
10-Dec-2023	ACHATINIDAE Swainson, 1840	16-Nov-2023	MODIFIED
		14-Dec-2011	ADDED