International Partula Snail Field Program

International Partula Snail Field Program is working to save:

Snails in the genus Partula

Averaging only about .5 inch in shell length, partulid snails live on the stems, trunks, and leaves of many plant species. The snails remain fastened to the undersides of leaves during dry periods but emerge to feed and mate when it rains, mostly at night. More than 100 species of Partula once existed on islands stretching across the South Pacific from Palau to French Polynesia. Now, nearly 70 percent of these species are extinct in the wild.

Habitat:

Valleys and forested slopes of volcanic islands of the South Pacific, particularly the Society Islands of French Polynesia, including Tahiti.

Critical threats to wildlife:

• Habitat loss

• Introduction of an invasive predatory snail (in the mid 1970s the rosy wolf snail (Euglandina rosea) was introduced to a number of Pacific islands to control another invasive species, the giant African land snail (Lissachatina fulica). Unfortunately, the predator ignored its intended victim, and has instead caused the extinction of over 50 Partulid species)

International Partula Snail Field Program Success Stories

• Nearly 20 species rescued and international breeding programs established, including one at Woodland Park Zoo for Partula nodosa.

• Key habitat sites have been recognized by the French Polynesian Government and there is much greater public awareness of the partulid snails’ story and the danger of introduced predators.

• Extensive survey work has clarified the status of the surviving partulid populations and greatly enhanced understanding of the predator species status and interaction with the partulids.

• A successful trial reintroduction of three partulid species into a predator-free forest reserve on the island of Moorea proved the reserve strategy can work, and that snails raised in captivity can re-adapt to natural habitat conditions.

Partula nodosa, or Tahitian tree snails, are extinct in the wild but thriving in captive breeding programs in five U.S. zoos.

The carnivorous Euglandina rosea, or rosy wolfsnail, was released into Tahiti, unintentionally causing the extinction of several species of native Partula snails.

Partula species live on islands ranging over 5,000 square miles of the southern Pacific Ocean, from French Polynesia up to Palau and the Phillipines.