Otala punctata |
Otala punctata is the scientific name of a snail
indigenous in Spain but which a few years ago was discovered in the Maltese
islands.
It does not seem
to have an established name in English. In Spanish it is called la cabrilla
which according to an online translator means the leopard. In a database it was
referred to as the Spanish snail so for this article to avoid constantly using
its scientific name I decided to call it the Spanish leopard. It has not yet
been given a Maltese name.
This species can
be found in eastern Spain, the Balearic Islands, Corsica, the south of France
and northwestern Algeria. Nowadays it can also be found in the Americas
including the United States, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile. In the United States
it is being assumed that it could be a serious pest which could have negative
effects on agriculture, and local biodiversity. In Europe it has been found
also in Sardinia.
It appeared in
Malta around 2003. It established itself in the areas surrounding a plant
nursery in Mosta which indicates that it was probably imported accidentally
with plants. Studies have shown that its range expanded slowly into the
surrounding areas.
It was recently
recorded in fields around Baħrija. No Spanish leopards were recorded
between Baħrija and Mosta. This indicates that the snails in
Baħrija were introduced there by humans. Although it
is possible that this was an accidental introduction it could also have been
introduced intentionally.
If this did
happen it was a very irresponsible act as the introduction could have many
negative consequences for the area.
Introduced
species often do not have natural enemies and often increase in numbers to the
detriment of local species. The Spanish leopard is very similar to the indigenous
common garden snail, the species that is collected for cooking and could
interact negatively with it.
It could also
become a serious pest, creating more problems to the farmers of the area. This
could lead to the use of even more snail poison with more negative consequences
to the environment.
In Spain this
species is cooked in a spicy tomato sauce and no harm would be done if it is
also collected in Malta for consumption.
Cabrilla would mean little goat. That online translator is very wrong.
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