| Summary: | The present investigation focused on the toxicity test of cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn), utilizing two groups of juvenile and adult apple snail <i>Pomacea insularum</i> (Gastropod, Thiaridae) with mortality as the endpoint. For the adult snails, the median lethal concentrations (LC<sub>50</sub>) values based on 48 and 72 h decreased in the following order: Cu < Ni < Pb < Cd < Zn. For the juvenile snails, the LC<sub>50</sub> values based on 48 and 72 h decreased in the following order: Cu < Cd < Ni < Pb < Zn. The mussel was more susceptible to Cu than the other four metal exposures, although the juveniles were more sensitive than the adults because the former had lower LC<sub>50</sub> values than the latter. This study provided essential baseline information for the five metal toxicities using <i>P. insularum</i> as a test organism, allowing comparisons of the acute sensitivity in this species to the five metals. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that <i>P. insularum</i> was a sensitive biomonitor and model organism to assess heavy metal risk factors for severe heavy metal toxicities. A comparison of the LC<sub>50</sub> values of these metals for this species with those for other freshwater gastropods revealed that <i>P. insularum</i> was equally sensitive to metals. Therefore, <i>P. insularum</i> can be recommended as a good biomonitor for the five metals in freshwater ecosystems.
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