I was dipping in the pond at Eldridge yesterday with my friends and we found a bunch of big snails! There's a picture of me next to one! I have never seen a snail that big before! I asked Mr. John and Ms. Beth what they were. Turns out they are called Chinese Mystery Snails! I thought that sounded like a made up name but that's really what they were called. Their fancy scientific name is Cipangopaludina chinensis malleata. They are an exotic species. That means someone brought them over from Asia and they made themselves at home here in America. They were first brought to San Francisco for the Chinese food markets there in the 1800s. They are eaten in China and other Asian countries because they are delicious and nutritious. (I have never tried one myself, though) Since then, they have gotten into our freshwater systems (all of our water that doesn't have salt in it, like the ocean does) and their population boomed! The females can live up to 5 years and over their lifetime they can have more than 170 babies!
Exotic species (plants and animals that naturally shouldn't be here) can be harmful to the ecosystems they enter. If an exotic species starts to take over spaces native species should be living we call them an invasive species. Chinese mystery snails haven't done a lot of damage to the lakes and ponds and streams they live in. Scientists consider them generally "benign". This means they aren't as bad as say Asian Carp or Buckthorn. Scientists are worried about them because they can carry parasites and diseases that can hurt our native animals. The parasites that they can carry are little flatworms called flukes. These can hurt many different kinds of animals. Not every snail has them, though but we should always be careful and wash our hands if we come in contact with these big snails!
Now you know what they are keep your eyes out for them! They might be coming to a pond or stream near you!!
Until next time my friends!
Eco
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