Achatinella apexfulva

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Achatinella apexfulva
Zoological Illustrations Achatinella pica.jpg
Drawing of a shell of Achatinella apexfulva
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Heterobranchia
Order: Stylommatophora
Family: Achatinellidae
Genus: Achatinella
Subgenus: Achatinella
Species:
†A. apexfulva
Binomial name
†Achatinella apexfulva
(Dixon, 1789) [2]
Synonyms
List
  • Achatinella lugubris Chemnitz
  • Achatinella pica Swainson
  • Achatinella vespertina Baldwin
  • Achatinella apicata var. alba Sykes
  • Achatinella apicata Newcomb
  • Achatinella swiftii Newcomb
  • Achatinella aptycha Pfeiffer
  • Helix Avex Fulva Dixon
  • Turbo apexfulva Dixon, 1798 (original combination?)
  • Turbo lugubris Chemnitz
  • Monodonta seminigra Lamarck
  • Bulimus seminiger Mke
  • Apex gulickii Smith
  • Apex lilaceus Gulick

Achatinella apexfulva is a reportedly extinct species of colorful, tropical, arboreal pulmonate land snail in the family Achatinellidae, once present on Oahu, Hawaii. A. apexfulva is the type species of the genus Achatinella . The specific name, apexfulva, meaning "yellow-tipped", refers to the yellow tip of the snail's shell. Inspired from the taxon, the species has been given common names such as yellow-tipped Oʻahu tree snail [3] or Hawaiian yellow-tipped tree snail. [4]

Contents

Taxonomy

The family Achatinellidae, to which Achatinella apexfulva belongs, represents a diverse adaptive radiation. All species of tree-snail in Hawaii are believed to have come from a single ancestral snail. How that ancestral snail made the 3,800 kilometres (2,400 mi) trip across the ocean is unknown. A longstanding theory is that a bird carried a notably smaller ancestor across the ocean and dropped it on the islands, as bird mediated dispersal has been documented in other snail species. Alternative theories include that it floated across the ocean on a mat of debris, or that it island-hopped across the Pacific in a combination of the theories. Within the Achatinellidae, A. apexfulva belongs to the Oahu clade, which evolved on Oahu island and includes most other members of the genus Achatinella. [5]

Distribution

This species was endemic to forests of the island of Oahu in the Hawaiian archipelago, United States, but is now extinct. [6] It was listed as federally endangered since 1981. [7] A major cause of its population decline in the wild was predation by the rosy wolfsnail. The rosy wolfsnail, a central-American native, was introduced to Hawaii in the 1950s to control agricultural pests. [8] However, as a carnivore of other snails it does not discriminate in its choice of food and has been the cause of at least eight other snail extinctions in Hawaii. [9]

Other causes of the snail's decline included loss of habitat due to deforestation, introduction of rats, and the introduction of Jackson's chameleon. [10] The problems that A. apexfulva faced are not unique: estimated extinction rates in the family Achatinellidae range between 75% and 90%. [5] The International Union for Conservation of Nature's last study on A. apexfulva was conducted in 1996 and listed the species as Critically Endangered. [1]

George

In 1997, in response to rapidly dwindling populations, all known remaining specimens of A. apexfulva were collected and bred in captivity. Most offspring died of unknown causes, but one successful offspring was born. This individual was named George, after Lonesome George, a Pinta Island tortoise from the Galapagos Islands who was also the last of his kind. [11] By April 2011, George was the only remaining member of the species. [12] [13] In January 2019, George died at age 14 – leaving the species reportedly extinct. [14] [8] [15]

Ecology

While A. apexfulva lived on the leaves of trees, it was not herbivorous. Its diet consisted of algae and mold that it ate off leaves. [10]

Related Research Articles

<i>Achatinella</i> Genus of tree snails

Achatinella is a tropical genus of colorful land snails in the monotypic Achatinellidae subfamily Achatinellinae. Species are arboreal pulmonate gastropod mollusks with some species called Oʻahu tree snails or kāhuli in the Hawaiian language.

<i>Euglandina rosea</i> Species of gastropod

Euglandina rosea, the rosy wolfsnail or cannibal snail, is a species of medium-sized to large predatory air-breathing land snail, a carnivorous terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Spiraxidae.

<i>Achatinella bellula</i> Species of gastropod

Achatinella bellula is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Achatinellidae. This species is endemic to the Hawaiian island of Oahu in the United States. No more than five specimens have been observed since 1979.

<i>Achatinella byronii</i> Species of gastropod

Achatinella byronii is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Achatinellidae. This species is endemic to Oahu, in the Hawaiian Islands.

Achatinella decipiens is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Achatinellidae. This species is endemic to Hawaii.

<i>Achatinella fulgens</i>

Achatinella fulgens is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc within the Achatinella genus of the family Achatinellidae. The species is one of a collection of snail species commonly referred to as Oʻahu tree snails or pupu kuahiwi in the Hawaiian language.

<i>Achatinella fuscobasis</i> Species of gastropod

Achatinella fuscobasis is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod in the family Achatinellidae. This species is endemic to Hawaii.

<i>Achatinella lila</i> Species of land snail

Achatinella lila is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Achatinellidae. This species is endemic to the northern Ko‘olau Mountains, Oahu.

<i>Achatinella mustelina</i> Species of gastropod

Achatinella mustelina is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Achatinellidae. This species is endemic to the Waianae Range of the island of Oahu, Hawaii.

<i>Achatinella pulcherrima</i> Species of gastropod

Achatinella pulcherrima is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Achatinellidae. This species is endemic to the island of Oahu in Hawaii.

Achatinella pupukanioe is a species of land snail, a gastropod in the family Achatinellidae. It is endemic to Hawaii.

Achatinella taeniolata, an O'ahu tree snail, is a species of colorful, tropical, tree-living, air-breathing land snail, an arboreal pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Achatinellidae.

<i>Achatinella vulpina</i> Species of gastropod

Achatinella vulpina is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Achatinellidae. This species is endemic to Hawaii.

Auriculella ambusta is a species of air-breathing tropical land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Achatinellidae. This species is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Some can be found in Oahu specifically in Waianae mountains. Many of the land snails goes extinct due to predators like a rodent, mongoose, etc. Over 752 land snails have been pushed into extinction due to these predators. There closest living relative is the Achatinella tree snails which are and bigger is size.

<i>Newcombia cumingi</i> Species of gastropod

Newcombia cumingi, common name Newcomb's Tree snail, is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Achatinellidae. This species is endemic to Hawaii, the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Achatinellidae</span> Family of gastropods

Achatinellidae is a family of tropical air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Pupilloidea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Endling</span> Last known individual of a species or subspecies

An endling is the last known individual of a species or subspecies. Once the endling dies, the species becomes extinct. The word was coined in correspondence in the scientific journal Nature.

George was a snail of the species Achatinella apexfulva, and the last known individual of his species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael G. Hadfield</span> Invertebrate Biologist

Michael Gale Hadfield is an invertebrate biologist and professor emeritus at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. His research has focused on the larvae of marine invertebrates and native tree snails in Hawai'i. He retired in 2013, but has remained active in research and was recognized in 2023 as one of the top ecology and evolutionary scientists in the U.S. and the world.

References

  1. 1 2 Hadfield, M.; Hadway, L. (1996). "Achatinella apexfulva". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 1996: e.T168A13038669. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T168A13038669.en . Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Pilsbry, Henry A. (1912–1914). "Historical Notes on the Literature". Manual of Conchology . XXII. Retrieved 29 February 2016. The first Achatinellid shells brought to Europe, so far as we know, were obtained by Captain George Dixon, who visited the Hawaiian Islands in 1786 and 1787. They were strung on a lei or necklace, which seems to have been made entirely of Achatinella apexfulva and A. decora. It appears that four specific names were based upon these specimens.
  3. ↑ "Yellow-tipped Oahu Tree Snail (Achatinella apexfulva)". Dead as the Dodo – Holocene Extinctions. June 8, 2021. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  4. ↑ TenBruggencate, Jan (January 4, 2019). "Last Hawaiian yellow-tipped tree snail dies". Blogger . Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Holland, Brenden S; Hadfield, Michael G (August 2004). "Origin and diversification of the endemic Hawaiian tree snails (Achatinellidae: Achatinellinae) based on molecular evidence". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 32 (2): 588–600. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.01.003. PMID   15223040. S2CID   57503.
  6. ↑ Kolbert, Elizabeth (2019-05-20). "Climate Change and the New Age of Extinction". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
  7. ↑ "Species Profile for Oahu tree snail (Achatinella apexfulva)". ecos.fws.gov. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
  8. 1 2 "George, Reclusive Hawaiian Snail And Last Of His Kind, Dies At 14". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-01-08.
  9. ↑ Kurt Auffenberg & Lionel A. Stange (November 2001). "Snail-eating snails of Florida, Gastropoda". University of Florida. EENY251. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
  10. 1 2 Land & animal & nonanimal. Springer, Anna-Sophie., Turpin, Etienne., Einfeldt, Kirsten., Wolf, Daniela., Haus der Kulturen der Welt. Berlin: Haus der Kulturen der Welt. 2015. pp. 1–14. ISBN   9780993907418. OCLC   904577335.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  11. ↑ Bowler, Jacina (January 9, 2019). "Lonely George – A Hawaiian Tree Snail – Has Died, Taking His Species With Him". Science Alert. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Achatinella apexfulva". The Recently Extinct Plants and Animals Database. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  13. ↑ Thom van Dooren (2013) "The last snail: conservation and extinction in Hawai’i" February 28, 2013. Retrieved 8 January, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Last known Hawaiian land snail of its kind dies". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2019-01-08.
  15. ↑ "World's loneliest snail dies, and a species goes extinct". 2019-01-08. Retrieved 2019-01-08.
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