Species that are considered uncertain risk need a more in-depth assessment beyond the Risk Summary to better define the species’ risk to U.S. environments.
Spiketop Applesnail (Pomacea bridgesi) is a freshwater snail native to South America. This species has been introduced to the United States through the aquarium trade, and members of this genus have been introduced to Asia as a food source. Other members of this genus can carry Angiostrongylus cantonensis (rat lungworm); although A. cantonensis has not been found in Pomacea in the United States, it has been found rats, and in at least one case, in humans. P. bridgesi has a medium climate match with the contiguous United States, with the highest matches in the coastal areas of the Southeast. Although it is established in isolated locations in the United States, information on impacts is contradictory. There are indications that it is helping to displace a native species in Florida, but this is not well-documented. In Alabama, no negative impacts have been documented in a pond where it was introduced. Because of the limited, contradictory information on history of invasiveness and taxonomic confusion surrounding the genus, the certainty of this assessment is low. The overall risk assessment category is Uncertain.
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Uncertain Risk
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