![]() ![]() ![]() “All through the country we have little outbreaks that come through quarantine barriers,” he said. He has also been working with Florida officials to fight the massive African snails that can grow up to eight inches. Robinson was hired as the first national malacologist in 1995 and has seen outbreaks of invasive snails threatening wheat crops in Montana, Detroit and Washington state. While they get little attention, exotic snails and slugs have become an increasing threat with growing global trade. At mealtime, the worm goes full-on Alien, posing a potentially serious threat to South Florida’s already fragile native snail population. But don’t be fooled by its sluggish demeanor. The nocturnal creeper clocks in at just two inches, looking more like a smudge of snot than an agile predator. mainland in four locations around Miami-Dade County. Researchers last month confirmed for the first time that the Pacific island flatworm has been found on the U.S. There’s also this: the worm is hermaphroditic, so it can multiply anywhere, anytime. ![]() It has a goo-spewing mouth on its belly, is covered in toxic slime, hosts a brain-eating parasite and, like any ambitious mutant monster, the New Guinea flatworm is invading the U.S. Makiri Sei, a staff scientist at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, was looking for rare tropical snails at Montgomery Botanical Garden before dawn when she discovered this New Guinea flatworm in August 2014. ![]()
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