Customs officials find snails, fungus never before seen in U.S.
Federal government officials in the past two months found snails and fungus never before seen in the U.S. on shipments from other countries.
In January, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection discovered a fungus, known as Phakopsoraceae, on dried Terminalia catappa leaves when inspecting a shipment from Vietnam at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, according to federal news release.
Terminalia catappa is a tropical tree that grows mainly in Asia, Africa, and Australia, although the release states it is found in some parts of the United States. The fungus has never been seen here before, the release added, so the leaves were destroyed.
About a month later, customs officials found three silky snails clinging to shipping crates that arrived at a Houston seaport from the United Kingdom. The snails are found in Great Britain, Northern Ireland, France and Spain, the release states, but not the United States.
The shipment containing snails was fumigated, the release said.
Alex Stuckey covers science and the environment for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach her at email@example.com or Twitter.com/alexdstuckey.