A snail the size of a cricket ball and posing a serious threat to Australia’s biosecurity has been destroyed after it was found creeping across a Brisbane container yard. Staff called the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) after finding the large snail crawling across the cement yard. It was a Giant African Snail.
There are many invasive pests that be carried into the country on shipping containers and cargo. The Giant African Snail is one of the world’s largest and most damaging land snails. Native to Eastern Africa, it has quickly spread around the world and is now established in most tropical countries. Australia has so far remained free from the pest.
The risk to Australia
The exotic pest has an insatiable appetite and is capable of destroying 500 types of plants, including crops and trees such as Australia’s native eucalypts. They feed on legume crops, ornamental plants, vegetables and the bark of large trees such as citrus and pawpaw. They pose a serious risk to Australia’s horticultural industries.
What the Giant African Snail looks like
Giant African Snails can live through harsh conditions, weighing up to a kilogram. Adult snails are very large with a long, narrow, cone-shaped shell, which is usually 5 to 10 centimetres long but can reach up to 20 centimetres.
They can vary in colour, however they are usually light brown, with alternating brown and cream bands on their upper whorls. All adult snails have both male and female sexual organs.
Eggs are 4.5 to 5.5 millimetres in diameter and are cream to yellow in colour. They are oval in shape and each batch can have between 100 and 400 eggs. In a typical year, every mated adult lays about 1200 eggs.
Where and what to look for
Adult snails can be found attached to shipping containers, machinery and motor vehicles. Sometimes, snail trails may also be seen. Eggs can be carried in soil associated with imported goods.
Acting DAFF regional manager Paul Nixon said that officers found no evidence of other snails, eggs or snail trails when they inspected the container yard. They would, however, continue precautionary surveillance over the coming weeks.
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