Giant African Snail: In News
The invasive giant African snail (Lissachatina fulica) is spreading rapidly across Tirunavaya panchayat and has now entered school campuses, raising health concerns for children in Kerala.
- Giant African Snail is the common name for several large African land snail species. The most damaging of these pests is Lissachatina fulica.
- It is one of the world’s worst invasive species.
- It is native to East Africa but it has been widely introduced to other parts of the world through the pet trade, as a food resource, and by accidental introduction.
- It thrives in warm tropical climates with mild temperatures all year round and high humidity.
- It is found in agricultural areas, coastal areas and wetlands, natural and planted forests, riparian zones, scrublands and shrublands, and the urban zones.
- It is a hermaphrodite.
- The snails can carry the rat lungworm parasite (Angiostrongylus cantonensis), which can cause eosinophilic meningitis in humans.
