{{Short description|Species of land snail}} {{Speciesbox | image=Bulimulus bonariensis.jpg | taxon = Bulimulus bonariensis |authority= (Rafinesque, 1833) |synonyms_ref= |synonyms= * ''Bulimulus (Bulimulus) sporadicus'' <small>(d'Orbigny, 1835)</small> * ''Bulimulus (Bulimulus) sporadicus schadei'' <small>Schlesch, 1835</small> (junior synonym) * ''Bulimulus (Drymaeus) morenoi'' <small>Preston, 1907</small> (junior synonym) * ''Bulimulus gelidus'' <small>Reeve, 1849</small> (junior synonym) * ''Bulimulus montevidensis'' <small>(L. Pfeiffer, 1846)</small> (junior synonym) * ''Bulimulus saltensis'' <small>Holmberg, 1909</small> (junior synonym) * ''Bulimulus sporadicus'' <small>(d'Orbigny, 1835)</small> * ''bulimus montevidensis'' <small>L. Pfeiffer, 1846</small> (junior synonym) * ''Helix sporadica'' <small>d'Orbigny, 1835</small> (junior synonym) * ''Siphalomphix bonariensis'' <small>Rafinesque, 1833</small> (original combination) |display_parents= 3 }}
'''''Bulimulus bonariensis''''', the '''ghost Bulimulus''', is a species of terrestrial snail in the family Bulimulidae.<ref name="inaturalist-Bulimulus bonariensis">{{cite web |title=Ghost Bulimulus (Bulimulus bonariensis) |url=https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/831286-Bulimulus-bonariensis |website=iNaturalist |access-date=2024-01-20 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="molluscabase">{{cite web |title=Bulimulus bonariensis (Rafinesque, 1833)|url=https://www.molluscabase.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1288732|website=MolluscaBase|access-date=2024-01-20|language=en}}</ref>
==Description== These snails can reach approximately 2.5 cm in total length.<ref name="Rabelo2022">{{cite journal |last1=Rabelo|first1=M.M.|last2=Dimase |first2=M.|last3=Paula-Moraes|first3=S.V. |date=2022| title=Ecology and management of the invasive land snail Bulimulus bonariensis (Rafinesque, 1833)(Stylommatophora: Bulimulidae) in row crops|journal=Frontiers in Insect Science|volume=2|article-number=1056545|doi=10.3389/finsc.2022.1056545 |doi-access=free |pmc=10926363}}</ref> Their shells are narrow and pointed with 5-7 whorls and are white or light yellowish brown in color. Sometimes the shell is marked with darker lines. The soft body is white or off-white, with darker gray pigmentation along the eyestalks.
==Range== ''Bulimulus bonariensis'' is native to southeastern South America, including Uruguay, northeastern Argentina, southern Paraguay, and the Atlantic coastal forests of Brazil from Rio Grande do Sul at least as far north as Espírito Santo state.<ref name="inaturalist-Bulimulus bonariensis" /> There are also scattered records from northern South America (Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela) and Central America (Panama, Nicaragua).<ref name="inaturalist-Bulimulus bonariensis" />
''Bulimulus bonariensis'' has been introduced to the southeastern United States and is spreading rapidly. As of January 2024 it is widespread throughout Florida and coastal Alabama and around Houston, Texas, with scattered records from coastal Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisiana as well as around Austin and College Station, Texas, and in several other areas of eastern and southern Texas, as well as in Coahuila and Nuevo León.<ref name="inaturalist-Bulimulus bonariensis" />
These snails were first reported in Florida in the Jacksonville area in 2009 and had reached the western Florida panhandle by 2017.<ref name="Rabelo2022" />
==Ecology== Eggs are buried in the soil, usually in clutches containing 40 eggs at a time.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Díaz |first1=Ana Carolina |last2=Martin |first2=Stella Maris |date=2024 |title=Numerical and biomass growth study of Bulimulus bonariensis (Rafinesque, 1833) (Gastropoda: Bulimulidae) under laboratory conditions |url=https://peerj.com/articles/16803.pdf |journal=PeerJ |volume=12 |article-number=e16803 |doi=10.7717/peerj.16803 |doi-access=free |pmid=38282866 }}</ref> Neonates will hatch from their soft, gelatinous shells about 2 weeks after laying. The shells are whitish but will turn brown a few days before hatching.<ref name=":0" />
Adults are protogynous hermaphrodites, meaning female reproductive organs develop first followed by male reproductive organs. At full sexual maturity the snail is a simultaneous hermaphrodite.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Díaz |first1=Ana Carolina |last2=Martin |first2=Stella Maris |last3=Rumi |first3=Alejandra |date=2023 |title=Gametic cycle and gonadal maturity of Bulimulus bonariensis (Rafinesque, 1833) (Gastropoda: Bulimulidae), in a rural area of Buenos Aires, Argentina |url=https://peerj.com/articles/15221.pdf |journal=PeerJ |volume=11 |article-number=e15221 |doi=10.7717/peerj.15221 |doi-access=free |pmid=37090112 }}</ref> They can live for a little over one to three years and will start reproducing at 6 months old or approximately 12–17 mm in length.<ref name=":0" /> Most reproduction takes place in the spring within their native range.<ref name=":1" />
The normal diet is dead and decaying plant matter. They tend to aggregate in moist microhabitats.<ref name="Diepenbrock_seminar">{{cite web| url = https://crec.ifas.ufl.edu/media/crecifasufledu/citrus-research/docs/seminars/Diepenbrock3_1_23_2023.pdf | title = BulimulusSnails: An Emerging Citrus Pest| author = Lauren Diepenbrock}}</ref>
''Bulimulus bonariensis'' is an emerging crop pest.<ref name="Rabelo2022" /> Concerns include interfering with irrigation equipment by covering microjets <ref name='Diepenbrock2023'>{{cite web |title="Developing management for a new snail pest" |url=https://citrusindustry.net/2023/08/09/developing-management-for-a-new-snail-pest| author = Lauren Diepenbrock| date=2023| access-date=2024-01-20}}</ref> and being sucked into peanut harvesting equipment, causing contamination.<ref name="Rabelo2022" /> It does not normally consume crops, but may feed on crop plants at sites of previous damage (''e.g.,'' from frost or other herbivores) or on seedlings.<ref name='Diepenbrock2023' /> Like other successful invasive species, high reproductive capacity, a generalist diet, and release from co-evolved enemies have probably contributed to its spread.<ref name="Rabelo2022" /> They are apparently eaten by Limpkins.<ref name='iNat143866162'>{{cite web|url=https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/143866162| title = iNaturalist 143866162| date = 7 December 2022}}</ref>
==Taxonomy== ''Bulimulus bonariensis'' was originally described as ''Siphalomphix bonariensis'' by Rafinesque in 1833. The type locality is north-eastern Argentina.<ref name="molluscabase" /><ref name="Rafinesque1833">{{cite journal |last1=Rafinesque|first1=C.S.|date=1833| title=On 3 N[ew].G[enera]. of land shells from Buenos Ayres in South America|journal=Atlantic Journal|volume=5|page=165}}</ref>
''T''he following subspecies are recognised: * ''Bulimulus bonariensis bonariensis'' <small>(Rafinesque, 1833)</small><ref name="inaturalist-Bulimulus bonariensis" /> * ''Bulimulus bonariensis sporadicus'' <small>(d'Orbigny, 1835)</small><ref name="molluscabase" />
=== Etymology === The specific epithet ''bonariensis'' means 'from Buenos Aires, Argentina'.
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q106272389|from2=Q106341694}}
Category:Bulimulidae Category:Gastropods of South America