'Mentaiko' along S'pore reservoir edge are golden apple snails' pink eggs

Listed among the top 100 most invasive species in the world.

Zhangxin Zheng | March 09, 2021, 05:08 PM

You might have seen these pink lumps along water channels or by the edge of water bodies in some of the parks and reservoirs in Singapore.

Photo by Anne Yong/Nature Society Singapore Facebook group.

Golden apple snails' eggs scattered all over the edge of reservoir

And even if you did, you might not have seen as many as what one person, Anne Yong, saw at the bank of a reservoir, which has caused quite a buzz even among nature lovers.

The bright pink eggs scattered indiscriminately on all the rocks can be a rather alarming sight to some.

Yong who took the photos said that the sight gave her "goosebumps" and she has not seen such a large cluster of snail eggs before.

One commenter described the eggs as "aliens from outer space".

Photo by Anne Yong/Nature Society Singapore Facebook group.

The eggs look very much like mentaiko, which is edible and made from the roe of fish.

Yong also captured an egret at the reservoir looking nonchalantly at the pink eggs by the bank.

Photo by Anne Yong/Nature Society Singapore Facebook group.

Photo by Anne Yong/Nature Society Singapore Facebook group.

Among top 100 most invasive species in the world

The notorious golden apple snail (Pomacea maculata) is native to South America.

The species likely entered Singapore's natural habitats through the aquarium trade in the 1980s.

The species can lay eggs in clusters of up to 1,000 eggs and this allows them to out-compete native species of apple snails, which lay eggs in smaller quantities.

Golden apple snails were introduced to Asia as a potential source of food but the species has become a major pest in rice fields.

When left uncontrolled, this highly invasive species can lead to more than 50 per cent yield loss.

They are listed among the top 100 most invasive species in the world.

Top image by Anne Yong/Nature Society Singapore Facebook group