earth science

List of land snails of the Mariana Islands

List of land snails of the Mariana Islands is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of land snails of the Mariana Islands rather than just read about it. In short: The following is a list of terrestrial snails found in the Mariana Islands. The general term for land snails in Chamorro is akaleha’.

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Reference excerpt

The following is a list of terrestrial snails found in the Mariana Islands. The general term for land snails in Chamorro is akaleha’. It has been estimated there are about 100 species of land snail on Guam, the southernmost Mariana Island, but about 20 of these have been introduced by human activities.

Conservation

Nearly all of the native species of land snail are in decline throughout the Mariana Islands, and many have not been seen for decades. Some of the following species have not been seen since the time they were first collected. The southern islands of the Mariana archipelago are now almost devoid of native land snails. Land snails face threats from habitat destruction and from introduced predatory snails. The predatory Gonaxis snails and rosy wolfsnails (Euglandina rosea) were introduced as biocontrols against the invasive giant African land snail (Lissachatina fulica), but they also reduced the population of native snails. Since then, all three of these species are now reduced by another biocontrol, the New Guinea flatworm (Platydemas manokwari), which is also predating native snails. The tiny islet of Alupat off Guam has been identified as a potential site for a snail preserve, as it has not been invaded by New Guinea flatworms, rosy wolfsnails, or Gonaxis snails.

Endemic snails

Assimineidae (palmleaf snails) Allepithema spp. - two undescribed species of Allepithema have been reported. Allepithema fulvum - Guam Allepithema glabratum - Guam Allepithema pyramis - Guam Allepithema quadrasi - Guam and possibly Rota and Tinian Allepithema tuberculatum - Guam Allepithema turritum - Guam Chalicopoma laevigatum - Guam and Rota Chalicopoma semicostulatum - Guam and Rota Omphalotropis cookei - Guam, Rota, Saipan and Sarigan Omphalotropis elegans - Guam and Rota Omphalotropis elongatula - Guam and Rota. Identified on Cocos and Alupat islands between 2016 and 2019. Omphalotropis erosa - Guam and Sarigan Omphalotropis gracilis - Guam Omphalotropis guamensis - Guam Omphalotropis laticosta - Guam Omphalotropis latilabris - Guam Omphalotropis ochthogyra - Guam and Rota Omphalotropis picta - Guam Identified on Alupat Island off Guam between 2016 and 2019 Omphalotropis pilosa - Guam Omphalotropis quadrasi - Guam and Rota Has been identified on Guam as late as 2024. Omphalotropis suturalis - Guam and Rota Omphalotropis sp. - five undescribed species from subfossil deposits in Rota Omphalotropis sp. - an undescribed species from Rota Paludinella conica - Guam, Rota, Saipan, Sarigan Quadrasiella clathrata - Guam Quadrasiella mucronata - Rota and Tinian

Diplommatinidae (staircase snails) Palaina hyalina - Guam, Sarigan, Aguiguan Palaina taeniolata - Guam, Rota, Saipan, Aguiguan Identified on Alupat and Cocos islands off Guam between 2016 and 2019, and on Guam in 2022

Hydrocenidae Georissa biangulata - Guam and Sarigan Has been identified on Guam in 2024. Georissa elegans - Guam, Rota, Aguiguan Georissa laevigata - Rota and Aguiguan Identified on Alupat and Cocos islands off Guam between 2016 and 2019

Truncatellidae (looping snails) Taheitia alata - Guam Taheitia lamellicosta - Guam Taheitia parvula - Guam Taheitia subauriculata - Guam Truncatella expansilabris - Guam

Achatinellidae Elasmias quadrasi - Guam, Rota, Aguiguan, TInian, Saipan, possibly Anatahan, Alamagan, Agrihan, Asuncion and Maug. Has been identified on Guam and Saipan as late as 2024. Lamellidea microstoma - Guam, Rota, Tinian, Saipan, possibly Sarigan, Alamagan, Agrihan, Asuncion and Maug Lamellidea moellendorffiana - Guam, Rota, Tinian, Saipan, possibly Sarigan, Alamagan, Agrihan, Asuncion and Maug Lamellidea subcylindrica - Guam and Rota, possibly Sarigan, Alamagan, Agrihan, Asuncion and Maug

Charopidae Himeroconcha fusca - Guam Himeroconcha lamlanensis - Guam Himeroconcha quadrasi - Guam and Rota Himeroconcha rotula - Guam and Rota Ladronellum mariannarum - Guam Semperdon heptaptychius - Rota and northern Guam Semperdon rotanus - Rota

Euconulidae Lamprocystis denticulata - Guam, Rota and Saipan Lamprocystis fastigata - Guam, Rota, and Tinian Lamprocystis hornbosteli - Guam Lamprocystis misella - Guam

Partulidae Partula gibba (Fat Guam partulid) - Guam, Rota, Aguiguan, Tinian, Saipan, Anatahan, Sarigan, Alamagan, and Pagan. CRITICALLY ENDANGERED (IUCN) Partula langfordi (Langford's tree snail) - Aguiguan; EXTINCT (IUCN) Partula radiolata (Guam streaked tree snail) - Guam. CRITICALLY ENDANGERED (IUCN) Partula salifana (Mount Alifana partula) - Guam; EXTINCT (IUCN) Samoana fragilis (Fragile tree snail) - Guam and Rota. CRITICALLY ENDANGERED (IUCN)

Succineidae (amber snails) Succinea guamensis - Guam Succinea piratarum - Guam. ENDANGERED (IUCN) Succinea quadrasi - Guam. ENDANGERED (IUCN) Succinea species - Guam. Unidentified species house in the Bernice P. Bishop Museum reported by B.D. Smith

Vertiginidae (whorl snails) Nesopupa quadrasi quadrasi - Guam, possibly also Rota, Aguiguan, Tinian and Saipan Nesopupa sp. - undescribed species

Pupillidae Ptychalaea sp. - undescribed species from Sarigan, Alamagan, Pagan, Agrihan, Asuncion, and Maug

Non-endemic, possibly native snails

Assimineidae (palmleaf snails) Omphalotropis granum - known from Australia, Melanesia and Micronesia; found on Guam, Saipan and Rota Identified on Alupat and Cocos islands off Guam between 2016 and 2019

Truncatellidae (looping snails) Taheitia mariannarum - widespread in Pacific, common on Guam, Rota and Saipan Identified on Alupat and Cocos islands off Guam between 2016 and 2019 Truncatella guerinii - widespread distribution; found on Guam and Saipan

Ellobiidae (hollow-shelled snails) Melampus castaneus - widespread in western and central Pacific. Pythia scarabaeus - widespread in western Pacific; found on Guam, Rota, Aguiguan and Saipan Identified on Alupat and Cocos islands off Guam between 2016 and 2019

Euconulidae Liardetia sculpta - found from China to Micronesia; in the Marian Islands, found on Guam and Rota Liardetia tenuisculpta - found from Philippines to Micronesia; in the Mariana Islands, found on Guam and Rota

Introduced species

Achatinidae Lissachatina fulica (Giant African land snail) - introduced to the Guam in 1945, and to Rota, Tinian, Saipan, Pagan and Agrihan between 1936 and 1939

Achatinellidae Pacificella variabilis - widespread in Pacific; found on Guam and Rota, possibly Sarigan, Alamagan, Agrihan, Asuncion and Maug

Assimineidae (palmleaf snails) Assiminea parvula guamensis - native to Philippines; found on Guam

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

List of land snails of the Mariana Islands: Samoana fragilis (fragile tree snail), a critically endangered snail endemic to Guam and Rota — Samoana fragilis (fragile tree snail), a critically endangered snail endemic to Guam and Rota

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of land snails of the Mariana Islands

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Example 2 — changing one variable

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Example 3 — an exam-style question

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Applications of List of land snails of the Mariana Islands

In research: List of land snails of the Mariana Islands appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses List of land snails of the Mariana Islands in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: List of land snails of the Mariana Islands is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Fauna of the Northern Mariana Islands, Lists of biota of the Northern Mariana Islands, Lists of molluscs by location, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List of land snails of the Mariana Islands outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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Frequently asked questions

What is List of land snails of the Mariana Islands in simple terms?

The following is a list of terrestrial snails found in the Mariana Islands. The general term for land snails in Chamorro is akaleha’.

Why does List of land snails of the Mariana Islands matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

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Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

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