Partula faba

Partula faba was a species of air-breathing tropical land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Partulidae. This species was endemic to Ra'iātea and Tahaa, neighbouring islands which share the same lagoon, in French Polynesia. It is now extinct.[2] The species was the first Partula to be recorded.[2]

Partula faba
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Heterobranchia
clade Euthyneura
clade Panpulmonata
clade Eupulmonata
clade Stylommatophora
informal group Orthurethra
Superfamily:
Partuloidea
Family:
Partulidae
Genus:
Partula
Species:
†P. faba
Binomial name
†Partula faba
(Gmelin, 1791)

In captivity

From 1991 UK zoos fought to save this species from extinction. For a while this was successful but a slow decline set in. Bristol Zoo and then Edinburgh Zoo were entrusted with the last-known colony of these snails.[3] Unfortunately, this was not a success and the last snail died in February 2016.[2]

Subspecies

The species contained two subspecies.

  • Partula faba ssp. faba – Raiatea
  • Partula faba ssp. subangulata – Tahaa

Reasons for decline

The introduction of the small carnivorous snail Euglandina rosea in the 1980s caused the decline of many native species of Partulidae, among them Partula faba.

References
  1. Coote, T. (2009). "Partula faba". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2009. Retrieved 22 February 2014.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. "Captain Cook's bean snail Partula faba".
  3. "Bristol Zoo hopes to save last colony of tree snail ", BBC News, April 15, 2010.
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