Pomacea paludosa

Pomacea paludosa, common name the Florida applesnail, is a species of freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails.

Pomacea paludosa Temporal range: Pliocene-present
Colored engraving of a live Pomacea paludosa made by Helen Lawson († 1854) and published in 1845 A monograph of the freshwater univalve Mollusca of the United States: including notices of species in other parts of North America by Samuel Stehman Haldeman.
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Architaenioglossa
Family:	Ampullariidae
Genus:	Pomacea
Species:	P. paludosa
Binomial name
Pomacea paludosa (Say, 1829)
Synonyms[2]
Ampullaria caliginosa Reeve, 1856 Ampullaria depressa Say, 1824 (invalid: junior homonym of Ampullaria depressa Lamarck, 1804; A. paludosa is a replacement name) Ampullaria hopetonensis I. Lea, 1834 Ampullaria miamiensis Pilsbry, 1899 Ampullaria paludosa Say, 1829 (original combination) Ampullaria pinei Dall, 1898 (junior synonym) Pomacea (Pomacea) paludosa (Say, 1829) · accepted, alternate representation Pomacea paludosa flava M. Smith, 1937

Shell description

Five views of a shell of Pomacea paludosa

This species is the largest freshwater gastropod native to North America.^[3]

The shell is globose in shape. The whorls are wide, the spire is depressed, and the aperture is narrowly oval.^[3] The shells are brown in color, and have a pattern of stripes.

The shell is 60 millimetres (2.4 in) in both length and width.^[3]

Distribution

The indigenous distribution of this snail is central and southern Florida,^[4] Cuba and Hispaniola.^[5]

The nonindigenous distribution includes northern Florida. The species has also been found in Georgia, Oahu, Hawaii (Devick 1991)^{[citation needed]}, Louisiana, and Oklahoma.^[5]

Ecology

The maturation of eggs of Pomacea paludosa: freshly laid eggs in a thick mucus matrix have a salmon coloration (left). Mature eggs in calcified shells are pinkish white in color (right).

This is a tropical species. It is amphibious, and can survive in water bodies that dry out during the dry season.^[3]

Applesnails have both gills and lungs.