An integrative study of the invasive jumping-snail Ovachlamys fulgens (Gastropoda, Helicarionidae) in Rio de Janeiro and its fast spreading in Southeastern and Southern Brazil

Abstract

The Japanese invasive jumping snail Ovachlamys fulgens is a pest of ornamental plants and an intermediate host of a nematode that causes eosinophilic meningitis. We expand its distribution to eight municipalities from Rio de Janeiro State, and one locality from the Paraná State, and generated for the first time partial sequences of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene for Brazilian populations. External morphology, reproductive system, shell, radula, and jaw were also analyzed and described. Twenty-one lots were collected from Rio de Janeiro, Niterói, Magé, Miguel Pereira, Petrópolis, Teresópolis, Nova Friburgo, Bom Jardim and Paraty, in Rio de Janeiro State, and from Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná State. External morphology, shell and reproductive system were typical of O. fulgens, with some peculiarities found in the shell and radula. A single haplotype was found, which was 100% similar to sequences of COI available in GenBank for specimens from Japan and Argentina. The species seems to be adapted to many habitats and be rapidly expanding its distribution in Southeastern and Southern Brazil, and other South America countries. We highlight the importance of monitoring O. fulgens, considering its potential to compete with native mollusks, attack several plants, and be a transmitter of diseases.

Key words
Invasive species; ornamental plant pest; rapid spreading; terrestrial mollusk