Paper mill pond Pomacea with no operculum

*Paper mill pond Pomacea* with no operculum**
On 7/21/2006 about two dozen Pomacea were randomly netted from the paper mill pond and closely examined. Of the group, two were found which had no apparent operculum (see top image left). The specimens were retained and a closer examination was later performed. The specimen illustrated on the left in fact had no operculum while the remaining specimen had a very small misshapen operculum (top images right). Based upon two earlier finds of non-operculate snails from the aquatic park lake as well as a recent specimen from the Channeled Apple Snail population at the Hatton Chase lake in Duval County, Florida, it would appear that this phenomenon is more widespread than previous observations would suggest. The Duval County specimen (bottom image), similar in size to the Georgia snails, thrived in captivity and subsequently grew a new operculum.