''Bradybaena similaris'', the Asian trampsnail, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of small, invasive

land snail 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 (those without shells are known as ...

. It is a

pulmonate Pulmonata or pulmonates, is an informal group (previously an order, and before that a subclass) of snails and slugs characterized by the ability to breathe air, by virtue of having a pallial lung instead of a gill, or gills. The group includ ...

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

terrestrial mollusc Terrestrial molluscs or land molluscs (mollusks) are an ecological group that includes all molluscs that live on land in contrast to freshwater and marine molluscs. They probably first occurred in the Carboniferous, arising from freshwater on ...

in the family

Bradybaenidae Bradybaeninae is a taxonomic subfamily of medium-sized to small land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Camaenidae, superfamily Helicoidea.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Bradybaeninae Pilsbry, 1934 (1898). Acc ...

. It earned the common name based on its origins, and its habit of roosting on freight containers . This habit means that this may be one of the most broadly-distributed species of terrestrial snail in the world. ''Bradybaena similaris'' is the type species of the genus '' Bradybaena''.

Distribution

This species is native to Southeast Asia, but it has been accidentally introduced to many areas around the world. The distribution includes: *

Pratas Island Pratas Island,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also known as the Tungsha Islands or the Dongsha Islands (), is a coral island situated in the northern part of the South China Sea administered as part of Cijin District, Kao ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

Wu S.-P., Hwang C.-C., Huang H.-M., Chang H.-W., Lin Y.-S. & Lee P.-F. (2007). "Land Molluscan Fauna of the Dongsha Island with Twenty New Recorded Species". ''Taiwania'' 52(2): 145-151
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The introduced distribution includes states on the Gulf of Mexico, and it is widespread in Florida, USA. It has become widespread in Eastern Australia, usually living in association with exotic weeds. It can be found on Reunion island, Mayotte and Mauritius, New-Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna and French Polynesia.

Description

The width of the

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard ou ...

is about 12 to 16 mm with

whorls A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs). Whorls in nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral ...

. The color of the shell is light brown, often with a single, apical chestnut band. The shell is

sculptured Sculptured is an American experimental and progressive metal band, mixing melodic and atonal segments. Biography Following the dissolution of his previous band, guitarist Don Anderson began Sculptured as mostly a one-man project in 1996. With ...

with fine, irregular growth lines and fine spiral striae. The lip of the adult shell is reflected and the

columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (; Arabic: , 4 – ) was a prominent writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His ' in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture, together with the wo ...

is partially covering the umbilicus. Bradybaena similaris shell 2.jpg, An apical view of a brown shell Bradybaena similaris SEM dart.jpg, SEM image of

love dart A love dart (also known as a gypsobelum, shooting darts, or just as darts) is a sharp, calcareous or chitinous dart which some hermaphroditic land snails and slugs create. Love darts are both formed and stored internally in a dart sac. These ...

Food

The Asian trampsnail primarily consumes live plant matter, such as growing vegetables or plants like arugula. They are known for being destructive to gardens and crops because of their eating habits. It has also been observed consuming

coffee rust ''Hemileia vastatrix'' is a multicellular basidiomycete fungus of the order Pucciniales (previously also known as Uredinales) that causes coffee leaf rust (CLR), a disease affecting the coffee plant. Coffee serves as the obligate host of cof ...

and the mycoparasite ''

Lecanicillium lecanii ''Lecanicillium lecanii'' is now an approved name of an entomopathogenic fungus species, that was previously widely known as ''Verticillium lecanii'' (Zimmerman) Viegas), but is now understood to be an anamorphic form in the ''Cordyceps'' group o ...

''.

Ecology

As an

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

, the Asian trampsnail is often found in areas with tall grasses and high humidity. Typically this species is found in

gardens A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...

greenhouses A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown.These s ...

, and similar habitats, sometimes retreating under logs or fallen branches. This species is often common with abundant old shells on the ground and among leaf litter, as well as on vegetation and on trees. It is active after rainfall. Dundee and Cancienne reported that this snail can survive winters in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

where the temperature can fall as low as 5-10°C. It feeds on a wide variety of plants including

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...

and is considered as pest in agriculture. This snail is often exported by accident from Florida to other areas and thus poses a

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

problem for Florida. This species of snail creates and uses

love darts A love dart (also known as a gypsobelum, shooting darts, or just as darts) is a sharp, calcareous or chitinous dart which some hermaphroditic land snails and slugs create. Love darts are both formed and stored internally in a dart sac. The ...

during mating. Snail eggs generally take 2-4 weeks to hatch, lifespan 2-3 years.

References

This article incorporates public domain text, a public domain

work of the United States Government A work of the United States government, is defined by the United States copyright law, as "a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person's official duties." "A 'work of the United States Governmen ...

from the reference.

Stange L. A. (created September 2004, updated March 2006)
"Snails and Slugs of Regulatory Significance to Florida"
. Division of Plant Industry,

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) is an executive department of the government of Florida. The Commissioner of Agriculture (directly elected by voters statewide for a four-year term, and a member of the Florida ...

. accessed 27 August 2010.

External links

on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site {{Taxonbar, from=Q3076797 Bradybaenidae Gastropods described in 1821 Gastropods of Lord Howe Island