Japanese mysterysnail, Oriental mysterysnail, Japanese black snail, Japanese trapdoor snail, C. japonicus, C. chinensis japonica, C. chinensis japonicus, Bellamya japonica, B. chinensis japonica, Viviparus japonica, V. japonicus, V. chinensis japonica, Heterogen japonica

Wolfert and Hiltunen (1968) found that the densities and distribution of the species in a waterbody is influenced by prevailing winds.

This species hosts many parasites, some of which affect human health (Michelson 1970; Lin and Chen 1980).

Summary of species impacts derived from literature review. Click on an icon to find out more...

Environmental	Socioeconomic	Beneficial

Current research on the environmental impact of Cipangopaludina japonica in the Great Lakes is inadequate to support proper assessment.

Potential:
In Spot Pond, Massachusetts, the Japanese mystery snail was discovered to be a regular host to the common native parasite Aspidogaster conchicola, marking the first record for a gastropod host of this species in North America (Michelson 1970). Cipangopaludina japonica may have negative interactions with native gastropods or the environment, possibly similar to those of the closely related C. chinensis (see C. chinensis fact sheet).

Current research on the socio-economic impact of Cipangopaludina japonica in the Great Lakes is inadequate to support proper assessment.

Realized:
In the past, this species has been caught in large numbers by commercial fishermen in Sandusky Bay, Lake Erie, where two-ton catches have sometimes been reported from one seine haul (Wolfert and Hiltunen 1968). Cipangopaludina japonica has been considered a nuisance by fisherman in this area and could become a similar nuisance in other areas where it exists in dense populations (Wolfert and Hiltunen 1968).

Potential:
The Japanese mystery snail is a host to Angiostrongylus cantonensis larvae in Taiwan, a species associated with eosinophilic meningitis (Lin and Chen 1980). It is also capable of hosting many other parasites in Asia, some of which may infect humans. The extent of this species’ role as a host to parasites in the Great Lakes is unknown.

Reports of C. chinensis clogging water intakes have emerged, suggesting that closely related C. japonica may also be capable of damaging infrastructure, particularly given the high densities which have been encountered by fishermen in the past (Wolfert and Hiltunen 1968).

Current research on the beneficial effect of Cipangopaludina japonica in the Great Lakes is inadequate to support proper assessment.

Potential:
Research in Japanese rice paddies suggested that the feeding activity of C. japonica, a common rice paddy dweller and consumer of bacteria, could be used to assimilate excess sewage from wastewater treatments if the sewage were applied as compost (Kurihara and Kadowaki 1988). However, utilizing C. japonicus in such a way could pose a danger to consumers of the snail, including humans, due to the potential accumulation of heavy metals and other toxic substances (Kurihara and Kadowaki 1988).

Mystery snails (Cipangopaludina spp.) have been popular aquarium species in the U.S., and their role in the aquarium/ornamental market is often invoked as the primary explanation of these species’ widespread dispersal (Cordiero 2002, Havel 2011, Karatayev et al. 2009, Mackie 2000, Mills et al. 1993). Cipangopaludina spp. have also had presence in live food markets, particularly in Asian markets of the Western U.S. (Mackie 2000).

Regulations (pertaining to the Great Lakes region)
Japanese mystery snail is a regulated invasive species in Minnesota (MN Administrative Rules, 6216.0260 Regulated)

Note: Check federal, state/provincial, and local regulations for the most up-to-date information.
 

Control
Specific control methods for the Japanese mystery snail have yet to be developed – most available control suggestions are based on research with the closely related Cipangopaludina chinensis.

Biological
Manipulation of predator fishes and turtles that eat snails may be useful in the control of snail populations.  However, as a relatively large snail species, Cipangopaludina japonica may escape predation by smaller fishes. 

Physical
Preliminary research demonstrates that Cipangopaludina chinenesis will not migrate upstream against a small current (Rivera 2008) – it is not known whether C. japonica is similarly restricted.  Acceleration of current may be an important management tool for preventing upstream spread.

Dessication (drying) is not likely to be an effective control method for Cipangopaludina japonica.  Field experiments under mesic conditions indicated that C. chinensis and other snails with opercula can survive exposure to air for at least 4 weeks (Havel 2011).

Chemical
There are copper compounds that are sold as snailicides but they are usually not selective in the snails they kill. With Japanese mystery snails possessing opercula, more damage would probably occur to native snails in the treatment area than to the target pest.

Note: Check state/provincial and local regulations for the most up-to-date information regarding permits for control methods. Follow all label instructions.

Heterogen japonica is used by Hirano et al (2019) based on muliple genetic markers.

David and Cote (2019) did a genetic and morphological analysis on North American populations of both C. japonica and C. chinensis, finding them genetically distinct, morphologically indistinguishable, and co-occuring in multiple lakes of New York; the authors go on to discuss literature which also supports the idea that these two species have no shell characters that can be used to distinguish them morphologically.