Bulimulus bonariensis
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| Bulimulus bonariensis | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Stylommatophora |
| Family: | Bulimulidae |
| Subfamily: | Bulimulinae |
| Genus: | Bulimulus |
| Species: | B. bonariensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Bulimulus bonariensis (Rafinesque, 1833) | |
| Synonyms | |
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Bulimulus bonariensis, the ghost Bulimulus, is a species of terrestrial snail in the family Bulimulidae.[1][2]
These snails can reach approximately 2.5 cm in total length.[3] Their shells are narrow and pointed with 5-7 whorls and are white or light yellowish brown in color. Sometimes the shell is marked with darker lines. The soft body is white or off-white, with darker gray pigmentation along the eyestalks.
Range
Bulimulus bonariensis is native to southeastern South America, including Uruguay, northeastern Argentina, southern Paraguay, and the Atlantic coastal forests of Brazil from Rio Grande do Sul at least as far north as Espírito Santo state.[1] There are also scattered records from northern South America (Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela) and Central America (Panama, Nicaragua).[1]
Bulimulus bonariensis has been introduced to the southeastern United States and is spreading rapidly. As of January 2024 it is widespread throughout Florida and coastal Alabama and around Houston, Texas, with scattered records from coastal Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisiana as well as around Austin and College Station, Texas, and in several other areas of eastern and southern Texas, as well as in Coahuila and Nuevo León.[1]
These snails were first reported in Florida in the Jacksonville area in 2009 and had reached the western Florida panhandle by 2017.[3]