Rosy Wolfsnail

The rosy wolfsnail (Euglandina rosea), known also as the cannibal snail, is a large snail species which has been introduced to a number of countries as a biological control for the giant African land snail.

Native Range
The rosy predator snail is native to the southeastern United States ([1]) of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina.[2]

North America
Though it is native to the South of the United States, the rosy predator snail has been introduced outside of its native range within the country, to try and combat the ever growing population of the Giant African Snail, the states of California, Texas and Hawaii. [2] Within Hawaii, the snail is present on the islands of Hawaii, Oah'u, Kaua'i and Moloka'i. [3]

The rosy wolfsnail has also been introduced to Bermuda. [4]

Central America
The rosy wolfsnail is present in the Bahamas. [4]

Oceania
The rosy wolfsnail has become established on many of the islands in the south-west Pacific. It can be found in the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Solomon islands, New Caledonia, Kiribati, Samoa, American Samoa and French Polynesia. [4]

Asia
The rosy wolfsnail is present in south-east Asia, in Indonesia, Malaysia (in the Sabah region), Hong Kong (though not yet elsewhere in China), Taiwan, Japan (only in the Bonin Islands^), Sri Lanka and the Andaman and Nicobar islands of India. [4]

Africa
The rosy wolfsnail's introduced African range extends through Madagascar, the Seychelles, Mauritius and Reúnion. [4]

Pathways and Introduction
The rosy wolfsnail has been released deliberately outside of its native range as a biological control against the invasive giant African land snail. [2/4] It was introduced to Hawaii in 1955. [3] Some of these Hawaiin snails were taken to and released in Japan in the 1960s. [5] It was introduced to Bermuda between 1958 and 1960, to Vanautu in 1973, to French Polynesia between 1974 and 1977, to New Caledonia between 1974 and 1978 and to American Samoa in 1980. [4]

Impacts
The rosy wolfsnail has been ineffective as a biological control, [4] and instead targets smaller native and introduced snails [6] and slugs. [2]

Of the 400 snail species endemic to Hawaii, only 10 remain. This is thought to largely be due to predation by the rosy wolfsnail. 24 of Mauritius' 106 endemic snail species have also become extinct. [6]

Control and Removal Methods
Baiting using toxins added to Pomacea snails is being trialed in Hawaii.** Exclosures have also been built to act as physical barriers to the rosy wolfsnails in Hawaii and French Polynesia. [2/6]