| Achatinella pupukanioe | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Stylommatophora |
| Family: | Achatinellidae |
| Genus: | Achatinella |
| Subgenus: | Bulimella |
| Species: | A. pupukanioe |
| Binomial name | |
| Achatinella pupukanioe | |
Achatinella pupukanioe is an extremely rare and possibly extinct species of land snail, a gastropod in the family Achatinellidae. It is endemic to Hawaii.
The dextral shell is conic and solid. The shell has six whorls. The glossy color is a uniform white, or ivory yellow with a white sutural line or either of these tints with a burnt sienna band immediately above a wider and darker band. The suture is margined. The lip is not expanded and has a brownish edge; the internal rib is white, or sometimes the whole lip is pale-pink. The white columellar fold is rather strong and abrupt. [3]
The height of the shell is 16.3 mm. The width of the shell is 9.7 mm. [3]
In 2015, the SEPP team found a tree full of Achatinella pupukanioe . The SEPP decided to leave them alone, but a few years later when they went to collect the snails for the lab they were gone, possibly swallowed whole by rosy wolfsnails. [4] [5]
While the species is now believed to be extinct, there is a slim chance surviving undetected populations may still exist somewhere in the Koolau Mountains.
