The rapid spread of the girdled snail Hygromia cinctella in New Zealand (Gastropoda: Helicoidea)

Abstract

The girdled snail Hygromia cinctella originates from southern Europe but has been introduced to countries in northern Europe and, more recently, to Aotearoa New Zealand. In the latter country, the girdled snail was first noted in 2015 in Wellington, but it has since spread to other regions of the North Island. We report here the rapid spread of this exotic species in New Zealand and record its present geographical distribution using museum specimens and the community science platform iNaturalist.