Partula turgida

†Partula turgida 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, French Polynesia. It died out in 1996, and is now extinct.[1] The snail's low rate of movement made it hard to determine the exact date of death but it was confirmed on 31 January.[2]

Partula turgida
Shell of a Partula turgida
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. turgida
Binomial name
†Partula turgida
(Pease, 1864)

P. turgida was being kept alive in captivity, when the population suffered a crash caused by the microsporidian genus Steinhausia. This is the first definitive report of an extinction of a species caused by a parasite.[3]

References
  1. Coote, T. (2009). "Partula turgida". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2009: e.T16331A5603037. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009-2.RLTS.T16331A5603037.en.
  2. "Tiny Tree Snail Finally Creeps To Extinction". Chicago Tribune. 1 February 1996.
  3. Cunningham A. A. & Daszak P. (1998). "Extinction of a Species of Land Snail Due to Infection with a Microsporidian Parasite". Conservation Biology. 12 (5): 1139–1141. doi:10.1046/j.1523-1739.1998.97485.x. JSTOR 2387588.


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