page_title: Euglandina rosea
section_title: As an invasive species
hierarchical_section_title: Euglandina rosea / As an invasive species
caption_attribution_description: English: Achatinella sp.
context_page_description: Euglandina rosea, common names the rosy wolfsnail or the cannibal snail, is a species of medium-sized to large predatory air-breathing land snail, a carnivorous terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Spiraxidae. This species is a fast and voracious predator, hunting and eating other snails and slugs. The rosy wolfsnail was introduced into Hawaii in 1955 as a biological control for the invasive African land snail, Achatina fulica. This snail is responsible for the extinction of an estimated eight native snail species in Hawaii. This has caused the snail to be added to the IUCN’s top 100 most invasive species.
context_section_description: The rosy wolfsnail has become an invasive species in many areas outside its native range, including Hawaii. These predatory snails were originally introduced to Hawaii in an attempt to eliminate another invasive species, the giant African land snail, Achatina fulica. The introduction occurred in 1955 when specimens were collected from Florida and sent to Hawaii. During the same year, 616 individuals were released on Oahu. In 1958 12,000 were taken from Oahu and introduced onto eight other Pacific islands. This did not, however, reduce the populations of A. fulica, but rather caused a decline in native snail populations. The introduced species vigorously attacked the indigenous O'ahu tree snail. As a result, many tree snail species were hunted to extinction within the first year. These predatory snails continue to represent a threat to the local snail fauna.
  Of all known mollusk extinctions since 1500, about 70% are from islands, and an estimated one-third of these were caused by introduced E. rosea. These prey snails were at an increased risk of predation-caused extinction because of their extremely low reproduction rates. The rosy wolfsnail has caused the extinction of an estimated eight native snail species in Hawaii. Due to this, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has placed the rosy wolfsnail on the list of the top 100 worst invasive alien species in the world.
caption: An O'ahu tree snail, one of the primary species threatened by introduced rosy wolfsnails.
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