Partula is a genus of air-breathing tropical land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Partulidae. Many species of Partula are known under the general common names "Polynesian tree snail" and "Moorean viviparous tree snail". Partulids are distributed across 5,000 sq mi (13,000 km2) of Pacific Ocean islands, from the Society Islands to New Guinea. Once used as decorative items in Polynesian ceremonial wear and jewelry, these small snails, averaging about 0.5–0.75 inches (13–19 mm) in length, gained the attention of science when Dr. Henry Crampton (along with Yoshio Kondo) spent 50 years studying and cataloging partulids, detailing their remarkable array of morphological elements, ecological niches, and behavioral aspects that illustrate adaptive radiation.
Decline The partulids of the island of Tahiti act as an example of the possible deleterious effects of attempted biological control. After an infestation of the introduced giant African land snails (Achatina spp.), the carnivorous Florida rosy wolfsnail (Euglandina rosea) was introduced into Tahiti in an attempt to combat the African species. Instead, the rosy wolfsnail hunted the nearly 76 species of Partula that were endemic to Tahiti and the nearby islands, causing all but 12 species to go extinct within a decade. Scientists were able to save 12 of these species prior to their becoming extinct. Today, the Zoological Society of London runs the Partula Programme Consortium which maintains a captive-breeding programme in the United Kingdom, France, and the United States. As of the 2024 update released on June 27, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species contains 73 Partula species. Of these, 32 are listed as extinct, 10 are extinct in the wild, 17 are critically endangered, 8 are endangered, 2 are vulnerable, and only 4 species are least concern. Individuals are being reintroduced to Tahiti from captive breeding programmes since 2014. In April 2023, over 5,000 individual snails from zoos in the United States and the United Kingdom were released on Tahiti and Mo'orea.
Species Species within the genus Partula include:
Full list The species pages are currently outdated because of the IUCN 2024-1 update. The list may be currently missing some species. If you notice a missing species please add it.
Collected for ex situ conservation The Partula that were collected for ex situ breeding include the following: Tahiti – P. affinis, P. clara, P. compressa (P. otaheitana), P. hyalina, P. nodosa Moorea – P. aurantia, P. mirabilis, P. mooreana, P. suturalis, P. taeniata, P. tohiveana Huahine – P. arguta, P. rosea, P. varia Raiatea – P. clarkei (P. turgida), P. dolorosa, P. faba, P. garrettii (P. tristis), P. hebe, Partula labrusca, P. navigatoria (P. dentifera) Marianas – P. gibba, P. lutaensis (P. langfordi)
P. garrettii and P. navigatoria were misidentified as the species in parentheses next to them.
Surviving species The list of surviving species are as follows: Tahiti – P. affinis, P. clara, P. hyalina, P. incrassa, P. nodosa, P. otaheitana Moorea – P. mirabilis, P. mooreana, P. suturalis, P. taeniata, P. tohiveana Huahine – P. rosea, P. varia Raiatea – P. garrettii (P. tristis), P. hebe, P. meyeri, P. navigatoria (P. dentifera) Marianas – P. gibba, P. lutaensis, P. radiolata Micronesia – P. emersoni Fiji – P. leefei, P. lirata Solomon Islands – P. cramptoni, P. micans Papua New Guinea – P. auraniana, P. similaris Cook Islands – P. assimilis
Cladogram Phylogenetic analyses revealed that many of the Partula species are not monophyletic. The resulting cladogram is shown below.
Ecology Partula species on Tahiti were usually found on the undersides of the leaves of Caladium and plantain, although in some valleys, they were frequently found on Dracaena and turmeric.
Gallery
Tahitian species
Moorean species
Huahine species
Raiatean species
Mariana Islands species
References This article incorporates public domain text from the reference.
Further reading Crampton H. E. (1916). Studies on the variation, distribution and evolution of the genus Partula. The species inhabiting Tahiti. Carnegie Institution of Washington, 228: 1-311. Crampton H. E. (1925). Studies on the variation, distribution and evolution of the genus Partula. The species of the Mariana Islands, Guam and Saipan. Carnegie Institution of Washington, 228a: 1-116. Crampton H. E. (1932). Studies on the variation, distribution and evolution of the genus Partula. The species inhabiting Moorea. Carnegie Institution of Washington, 410: 1-335. Lee, T.; Burch, J. B.; Jung, Y.; Coote, T.; Pearce-Kelly, P.; ó Foighil, D. (2007). "Tahitian tree snail mitochondrial clades survived recent mass extirpation". Current Biology. 17 (13): R502–R503. Bibcode:2007CBio...17.R502L. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2007.05.006. PMID 17610827.
External links
Partula evolution, diversity and conservation Partula Pages
