''Zachrysia provisoria'' is a species of air-breathing

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 ...

, terrestrial

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 ...

mollusk in the family Camaenidae or Pleurodontidae.

Description

The shell is medium-sized (25–30 mm width), globose in shape with 4 to 5 rapidly expanding

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 d ...

. The shell is translucent so that the speckled black

mantle A mantle is a piece of clothing, a type of cloak. Several other meanings are derived from that. Mantle may refer to: *Mantle (clothing), a cloak-like garment worn mainly by women as fashionable outerwear **Mantle (vesture), an Eastern Orthodox ve ...

shows clearly through the shell of the living animal. The shell is usually thick and strong, but in acidic environments it can be thin and fragile. The

body whorl The body whorl is part of the morphology of the shell in those gastropod mollusks that possess a coiled shell. The term is also sometimes used in a similar way to describe the shell of a cephalopod mollusk. In gastropods In gastropods, the b ...

is increasing in size more than those of spire. There is no umbilicus. 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 fairly regular, strong, curved axial ribs. Fresh specimens are with rich dark tan covering, sometimes with light brown axial streaks. Older specimens are yellowish brown. The lip and columella is white. Individuals of ''Zachrysia provisoria'' use love darts during mating. A very similar species of snail is '' Zachrysia trinitaria'' (Pfeiffer), from Cuba, which has recently been found in South Florida. Adults of ''Zachrysia trinitaria'' can be distinguished from ''Zachrysia provisoria'' by their large size, since they are 1.5 to 2.0 times bigger than ''Zachrysia provisoria''.

Distribution

The distribution of ''Zachrysia provisoria'' includes: * Bahamas * Barbados * Cayman Islands * Cuba * Florida (Brevard, Orange, Broward, Collier, Lee, Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, Monroe, Palm Beach and Pinellas counties) * Guadeloupe. * Jamaica * Nevis * Mustique * Puerto Rico * Saint-Bathelemy. * Saint-Martin/Sint Maarten. * U.S. Virgin Islands This species is already established in the USA, and is considered to represent a potentially serious threat as a

pest Pest or The Pest may refer to: Science and medicine * Pest (organism), an animal or plant deemed to be detrimental to humans or human concerns ** Weed, a plant considered undesirable * Infectious disease, an illness resulting from an infection ** ...

, an

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

which could negatively affect agriculture, natural ecosystems, human health or commerce. Therefore it has been suggested that this species be given top national quarantine significance in the USA.Cowie R. H., Dillon R. T., Robinson D. G. & Smith J. W. (2009). "Alien non-marine snails and slugs of priority quarantine importance in the United States: A preliminary risk assessment". ''American Malacological Bulletin'' 27: 113-132
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Habitat

This species lives among leaf litter and among ornamental plants.

Feeding habits

''Zachrysia provisoria'' is a

polyphagous Feeding is the process by which organisms, typically animals, obtain food. Terminology often uses either the suffixes -vore, -vory, or -vorous from Latin ''vorare'', meaning "to devour", or -phage, -phagy, or -phagous from Greek φαγε ...

snail attacking a wide range of agricultural and horticultural plants. Known host plants include '' Bougainvillea'', various citrus species, crepe myrtle,

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

and

star fruit Carambola, also known as star fruit, is the fruit of ''Averrhoa carambola'', a species of tree native to tropical Southeast Asia. The mildly poisonous fruit is commonly consumed in parts of Brazil, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the South Pacif ...

( carambola). The snails can rasp the bark and epiderm of cuttings of several plants. This snail is often exported by accident from Florida to other areas and thus poses a quarantine problem for Florida.

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. accessed 27 August 2010.

External links

''Zachrysia provisoria''
on the UF /

IFAS IFAS may refer: * Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences * Integrated Fixed-Film Activated Sludge, a sewage treatment process * International French adjectival system In rock climbing, mountaineering, and other climbing disciplines, clim ...

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