The giant African snail, Lissachatina fulica (Bowdich, 1822) in China: current status, threats and management

ABSTRACT

Due to their rapid growth and ability to establish feral populations, non-native species pose a significant threat to global biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Terrestrial molluscs are particularly problematic among non-native invertebrates, damaging agriculture and forestry. The giant African snail (Lissachatina fulica), native to Africa, has been introduced worldwide, except Antarctica. Unintentionally introduced in China about a century ago, it has become a major agricultural pest in South China. However, limited biological and ecological information hampers control or eradication efforts. Our study, based on field surveys and literature review, summarises its introduction pathways, current distribution, and ecological and economic impacts in China, providing up-to-date information and management recommendations for better control of this species.

KEYWORDS:

• Distribution
• ecological impacts
• invasive species
• pest
• Snail

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research program (STEP), grant number 2019QZKK0501, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31600189), the Science and Technology Program of Guangzhou, China (2023B03J1306) and Guangdong Provincial Special Fund for Modern Agriculture Industry Technology Innovation Team (2023KJ134). We are grateful to anonymous referees for their helpful comments on earlier versions of this paper.

Authors’ contribution

Conceptualisation, WX and XM; methodology, WX, QG, MF; field work, WX, QG, MF, MX; writing original draft preparation, WX, XM; writing review and editing, WX, MF, and XM; supervision, WX. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research program (STEP), grant number 2019QZKK0501, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31600189), the Science and Technology Program of Guangzhou, China (2023B03J1306) and Guangdong Provincial Special Fund for Modern Agriculture Industry Technology Innovation Team (2023KJ134).