Achatina fulica and Other Achatinidae S.K. Raut and G.M. Barker 3 Achatina fulica Bowdich and Other Achatinidae as Pests in Tropical Agriculture S.K. RAUT 1 AND G.M. BARKER 2 1 Department of Zoology, University of Calcutta, 35 Ballygunge Circular Road, Calcutta 700019, India; 2 Landcare Research, Private Bag 3127, Hamilton, New Zealand Achatinidae are native to Africa. The family is represented by about 200 species in 13 genera. Several species have attained pest status within their native African range when the habitat is modified for human habitation and cropping. Furthermore, associated with the increased mobility of humans and globalization of travel and trade, several achatinids, the most notable of which is Achatina fulica Bowdich, have been accidentally or purposefully transported to areas outside their native range in Africa and further afield. In these new areas Achatinidae can cause significant economic and ecological impacts. This chapter provides a synopsis of Achatinidae as pests in tropical agriculture, focusing primarily on A. fulica, but also bringing together the relevant information on other pestiferous achatinid species. Origins The dominant features of the vegetation in Africa today are the tropical forest and the savannah. Most of the diversity in African terrestrial gastropods is concentrated in the forest and its isolated outliers, and indeed the forest is generally regarded as the centre of gastropod evolution on the continent. Van Bruggen (1986) recognized four sub-Saharan centres of endemism among African terrestrial gastropods, namely: (i) southern Africa; (ii) East Africa; (iii) north-east Africa; and (iv) Central/West Africa. Each centre was assumed to have functioned as an important refugium during periods of forest contraction in the Holocene. The margins of the forest have never been permanent: throughout the climatic history of Africa the forest has waxed and waned in response to changing rainfall patterns. In the arid or interpluvial period c. 18,000 CAB International 2002. Molluscs as Crop Pests (ed. G.M. Barker) 55