The species in the genus Pomacea spp., specially P.
canaliculata and P. maculata , also known as Golden apple snails,
are among the world’s most critical invasive species, which had been
introduced to Taiwan during the 1980’s for dietary protein
supplementation and commercial utilization (Cheng and Kao, 2006; Hayes
et al., 2008). The rapid proliferation due to high reproduction rate,
fast growth, and stress tolerance created a wide-spread sympatric
distribution of two cryptic species of Pomacea in Taiwan:Pomacea canaliculata (Lamarck 1819) and P. maculata(Perry, 1810) (Banerjee et al., 2022; Hayes et al., 2008; Qin et al.,
2022). These snails cause destruction to local agriculture as well as to
the native ecological balance, besides acting as intermediate host to
the dangerous parasite: Angiostrongylus cantonensis . Furthermore,Pomacea spp. are actively consumed in countries such as Taiwan,
Thailand, and China, which, when consumed raw or undercooked, contribute
to the transmission of Angiostrongylus cantonensis to humans and
cause neuroangiostrongyliasis outbreaks, especially in China and Taiwan
(Lv et al., 2009; Song et al., 2016; Tsai et al., 2013). However, on the
basis of our recent understanding of the distribution of Pomaceaspp. in Taiwan (Banerjee et al., 2022), an in-depth look at the
prevalence of this nematode and its implications in Taiwan is required.