Dear James,
Certain snails are selfreproducing when not a mate is available. An example
among the landsnails is Rumina decollata. Among the freshwater snails
parthenogenic reproduction occurs even more often. Populations of
Potamopyrgus antipodarum (= formerly jenkinsi), an invading Hydrobiid snail
in Europe originating from New Zealand,  consist usually solely of females
and they are reproducing profusely. The same is true for Melanoides
tuberculata. In all these cases a single female can start a new population
without mating with a male. That's one of the reason why they are such
successful colonizers.
Best regards,
Henk K. Mienis
----- Original Message -----
From: James M. Cheshire <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, February 16, 2001 8:45 PM
Subject: Re: Tropid


> Dear Kurt,
> I am not trying to give the impression that I consider my getting these
> snails more important than the future of native species. I have a
> question,
> and it is simply out of curiosity. If only a single specimen of a foreign
> species
> was obtained for study, could it do any damage if it escaped? It seems to
> me
> that without a mate, it would not be able to reproduce, and therefor
> would not
> wreak havoc. I am now going to study just local snails, and, if the
> theory above
> is correct, I might have one Euglandina rosea.
>
> Best Regards,
> James
>
> James M. Cheshire
> (a.k.a. Jeremiah Chess)
> 3185 Raccoon Valley Rd.
> Granville, OH 43023-9472
> USA