Japanese Mystery Snail Cipangopaludina japonica (von Martens, 1861)Non-native  -  Invasive    Synonyms: Bellamya japonica, Japanese Mysterysnail.
Kingdom Animalia   >   Phylum Mollusca   >   Class Gastropoda   >   Order Architaenioglossa   >   Family Viviparidae   >   Genus Cipangopaludina   

Status:

According to USGS (2017), non-indigenous occurrences of this species are as follows: " Mid-Atlantic Region: Concord River, Massachusetts. Great Lakes: Japanese mystery snails was found for the first time in Lake Erie in the 1940s (Mills et al. 1993, Wolfert and Hiltunen 1968). There are also some specimens of this species from Green Bay, Lake Michigan from some time before 1968 (Wolfert and Hiltunen 1968)."

Description:

See USGS identification notes. Compare very similar Chinese Mystery Snail.

There are 8 records in the project database.

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A Japanese Mystery Snail found in Prince George's Co., Maryland (5/30/2014). Verified by Robert T. Dillon/College of Charleston. Photo by Robert Aguilar, SERC. (MBP list)

A Japanese Mystery Snail in Howard Co., Maryland (9/1/2015). Identification confirmed by by Dr. James Young (APHIS), Matt Ashton, Natural Resource Biologist IV (DNR), and Ellen Friedman, Biological Identification Section Head (DNR). Photo by Sue Muller. (MBP list)

A Japanese Mystery Snail in Howard Co., Maryland (9/1/2015). Identification confirmed by by Dr. James Young (APHIS), Matt Ashton, Natural Resource Biologist IV (DNR), and Ellen Friedman, Biological Identification Section Head (DNR). Photo by Sue Muller. (MBP list)

A juvenile Japanese Mystery Snail in Charles Co., Maryland (9/21/2016). Measured 12 mm. Photo by Robert Aguilar, SERC. (MBP list)

A Japanese Mystery Snail in the Potomac River, Washington, D.C. (8/17/2017). Measured 15 mm. Photo by Robert Aguilar, SERC. (MBP list)

Japanese Mystery Snails in Howard Co., Maryland (8/3/2016). Photo by Bob Cammarata. (MBP list)


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MBP marks as "Invasive" any taxon listed in the Maryland Invasive Species Council (MISC) list of Invasive Species of Concern in Maryland. You can read their criteria and review the lists here: https://mdinvasives.org/species-of-concern/.