Pomacea paludosa (Say, 1829) Florida Applesnail Rare Gold Specimen

    During a visit to the lake on the south campus of  Florida State College Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida on 10/31/2006 it was discovered that a significant mortality event had recently occurred and thus the shoreline of the lake, as well as the adjacent shallow water, was littered with a significant number of dead and dying Pomacea. Included among this readily available assembly of specimens was a gold colored specimen (pictured above with a specimen of normal coloration). Despite the examination of a large number of Pomacea paludosa over the years, this is the first specimen found by this reporter that deviated from the species normal coloration.