Rosy Wolfsnail (Euglandina rosea)The rosy wolfsnail is a species originally from the United States (
Rosy Wolfsnail (Euglandina rosea)The rosy wolfsnail is a species originally from the United States (notably Florida) that has caused the extinction of dozens upon dozens (if not hundreds) of other species of snails worldwide. How? In several regions of the world where giant African land snails (GALS) were introduced, there was a lot of resulting crop damage. It was believed that in order to reduce the number of GALS, one of the best solutions would be to introduce a predator. The rosy wolfsnail was chosen even though there was no real proof that they would even be able to put a dent in GALS populations. This method of GALS control was implemented in Hawaii and some of the Society Islands. Tragically, the rosy wolfsnails were uninterested in eating the GALS (which are much bigger than the rosy wolfsnails) so they instead focused on eating the sensitive native species. Many species driven to extinction by rosy wolfsnails were colorful island tree snails.Interestingly, rosy wolfsnails (and many other related species of predatory snails) have a characteristic “moustache.” The moustache is an extension of their lips and they flick it around while hunting to smell for the trails of prey snails. Wolfsnails are also much faster than typical snails.Etsy | DeviantArt | Instagram -- source link
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