A giant African snail was recently found in Brisbane and killed in order to prevent the invasive species from compromising Australian habitats.

Inquisitr reported that the extremely large snail was spotted in a container yard and instantly ignited fears over a resurgence of the species, which last occurred in 1977.

During the past outbreak, 300 giant African snails were killed in an eight-month span following a campaign that biodiversity officials launched to rid Australia of them.

Australian officials said that the large snail feeds on over 500 different crops throughout the country, a slew of other species and will also eat other giant African snails. To top it off, the species can even transmit fatal meningitis to humans.

In a statement, Paul Nixon of the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, said that "giant African snails are one of the world's largest and most damaging land snails. Australia's strict biosecurity requirements and responsive system has so far kept these pests out of Australia, and we want to keep it that way."

U.S. officials said that the giant African snail is a worldwide threat. Howard Wallace of the Florida Department of Agriculture explained that the species "are so bad in Nigeria, they actually flatten tires on cars on the road - the shells, they're so tough."

Wallace also added that in the state of Florida, giant African snails "[affect] not only agriculture, but our way of life, our health, and our safety."

In a little over a year, the site reported that trappers killed in excess of 114,000 of the pesty snails.

The trouble is this animal has the capacity to do something other native species can't. "We often times really don't know how big of a problem we might be dealing with because the signatures of what could be a big problem don't really show up," stated USF Biology Professor Marty.

The giant African snail can be viewed below.