On the tropical island of Moorea in French Polynesia, a species of snail about the size of a Skittle candy is cause for celebration. On September 2024, researchers found adult Partula tohiveana snails that were born in the wild. This is the first time in decades these tiny mollusks, measuring just 1-2 centimeters (less than an inch) in length, have reproduced naturally in their native habitat. This finding marks a significant victory in a 40-year conservation effort to save these small but ecologically important creatures. “Discovering wild-born adult snails was a great moment. Very few animal species have been re-established back in the wild so this is a fantastic achievement … the fruit of a vast amount of work,” Justin Gerlach from the University of Cambridge, one of the scientists involved in the program to breed the snails in captivity before releasing them back into the wild, said in a statement. Researcher observes an unmarked Partula tohiveana snail, meaning the individual was born in the wild and the species is re-established. Photo courtesy of Paul Pearce-Kelly Partula snails were once abundant across French Polynesia in the South Pacific. However, an introduced predator devastated their populations in the late 1980s. The rosy wolf snail (Euglandina rosea), brought in to control the invasive African giant land snail (Lissachatina fulica), ended up preying on the native snail species as well, driving them to extinction in the wild. Zoos stepped in and took the last surviving snails they could find to start breeding them…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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