Invasive Mollusk SpeciesBanded Mystery Snail
Member of the River Snail (Viviparidae) family. Introduced intentionally into the Hudson River by an amateur conchologist in 1867; spread to the Great Lakes via the Erie Canal and Mohawk River.
Brown Garden Snail
Member of the Land Snail (Helicidae) family. Introduced to North America (Maine) as early as 1839, and in the 1850’s a French entrepreneur brought them to California intending to sell them as food. It is one of two species commonly used in French and Spanish (Catalonian) cuisine as escargot.
Chinese Mystery Snail
Member of the River Snail (Viviparidae) family. Sold in Chinese food markets in San Francisco in the late 1800s and by 1965, it had been established on both coasts. It was introduced into the Great Lakes in 1940s.
Eastern Heath Snail
Member of the Leaf Snail (Hygromiidae) family. It was first detected in Michigan in 2001.
Golden Mussel
Member of the Sea Mussel (Mytilidae) family. It was introduced into Argentina in 1991 and within a decade, it had spread to four other South American countries. Its' introduction to North America is unknown.
Quagga and Zebra Mussels
Both Quagga and Zebra mussels are members of the Freshwater Bivalve (Dreissenidae) family. Quagga mussels were introduced to North America in 1989. While zebra mussels were introduced to the Great Lakes in 1988 through ballast water from a transatlantic freighter.
Wrinkled Dune Snail
Member of the Leaf Snail (Hygromiidae) family. Several pathways for invasion exist.