Cuban Brown Snail

The shell is medium-sized (25–30 mm width), globose in shape with 4 to 5 whorls. The spire is not very pointed. The apertural lip, or the lip of the shell at its opening, is thick and slightly reflected, or tilting upwards. The shell is generally very smooth, clean, and even shiny. Typically, the shell is a rich, dark tan and may have light brown streaks. Older shells may fade to a yellowish brown. The mantle is speckled black and can be seen if the shell is translucent. A very similar species of snail is Zachrysia trinitaria (Pfeiffer). Adults of Z. trinitaria can be distinguished from Z. provisoria by their large size, since they are 1.5 to 2.0 times bigger than Z. provisoria.

The native distribution of the snail is Cuba. Along with others in its subgenus, the snail is believed to be found in eastern and central Cuba, especially in the Granma Province. However, the current distribution of Z. provisoria includes:

Anguilla Antigua Bahamas Barbados Cayman Islands Cuba Dominican Republic Florida (Brevard, Orange, Broward, Collier, Lee, Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, Monroe, Palm Beach and Pinellas counties) Guadeloupe. Jamaica Mustique Nevis Puerto Rico Saint-Bathelemy. Saint-Lucia. Saint-Martin/Sint Maarten. U.S. Virgin Islands

Zachrysia provisoria is a polyphagous snail attacking a wide range of agricultural and horticultural plants. Known host plants include Bougainvillea, various citrus species, crepe myrtle, mango and star fruit (carambola). The snails can rasp the bark and epiderm of cuttings of several plants. This snail is often exported by accident from Florida to other areas and poses a quarantine problem for Florida.