Nature PEI, with funding from the PEI Wildlife Conservation Fund, initiated a project in 2025 to collect and identify PEI’s freshwater snails, and to learn more about the status of the 25 known species. A recent unique snail find for Prince Edward Island is the Big-Eared Radix (Radix auricularia). Reported by Jess Dewey of the PEI Invasive Species Council to iNaturalist, (https://inaturalist.ca/observations/320847851), it was found in Andrew’s Pond in East Royalty and appears to be the only record for the Maritimes. It is native to Europe and Asia, and is introduced across the USA and more sparsely in southern Canada. We speculate that it may have been released by someone who dumped the contents of an aquarium, or it may be too that more southerly snails survive further north as freshwaters warm.
Big-eared Radix, by Jess Dewey.
Snails abound at our salty beaches in tidal pools, and gardeners bemoan their abundance among the hostas, but freshwater snails are proving to be elusive. There is a steep learning curve for finding snails, and one professed snail enthusiast gave up in frustration. Another learned that snails are rare in cold water streams. Fortunately,
Nature PEI’s search has been aided by the Morell River Management Co-op, and the Hillsborough River Association.
Though it seems surprisingly difficult to find these molluscs in PEI’s ponds and streams, naturalists plan to collect more snails in 2026. Rosemary Curley of Nature PEI notes, “We have had successful projects for a few things we knew very little about, like spiders and mushrooms, so we aren’t giving up so soon.” She add, “And we have at least identified a few common species, like the attractive Marsh Ramshorn (Planorbella trivolvis) and the handsome Marsh Pond Snail (Ladislavella elodes).”