Distribution records of apple snails (Pomacea spp.) in Japan collected during 2017–2019 through a citizen science project for introduced species conducted by the Osaka Museum of Natural History

Apple snails Pomacea canaliculata and P. maculata are herbivorous freshwater gastropods native to South America and are introduced species widespread in western and southern Japan. Although they affect rice culture and are invasive to native ecosystems, high-resolution distribution data are not available for these species. I mapped the distribution of Pomacea species using the citizen science approach, by asking volunteers to report the geographical location along with the presence or absence of apple snail egg capsules or snail shells during 2017–2019. In total, 1304 present and 508 absent records were collected, which revealed the distribution outlines of apple snails, especially in the Kansai area. Here, I provide a dataset of observation dates, location coordinates, volunteer names, and supplemental information.