Tag Archives: Achatinella physa var. procera Ancey

Partulina confusa (Sykes)

Confusing Partulina Snail (Partulina confusa 

This species was described in 1900, it was endemic to the Hamakua- and Kohala districts of Hawai’i, Hawaiian Islands.  

The species was arboreal and was found on several native shrubs like the ilima (Sida fallax Walp.), and trees including the olopua (Nestegis sandwichensis ((A. Gray) O. Deg., I. Deg. & L. A. S. Johnson) and the mamane (Sophora chrysophylla (Salisb.) Seem.). [1][2]

The shells are quite large, reaching sizes of about 2,6 to nearly 2,8 cm.  

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One of several reasons for the extinction of this and other endemic Hawaiian snail species is the collection of their shells.:

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, landsnail collecting was a popular pastime on the Hawaiian Islands … Henshaw … referred to a colony of Partulina confusa on the Waimea Plains that had an estimated population size of 75,000 and where he and other collectors collected 10,000 shells in just 3 months …. The collections at the Bishop Museum also provide evidence for the shell-collecting pressure that was put on these snails on Hawai’i Island. There are 2827 shells of Partulina ssp. from Hawai’i Island in the collection, over half of them (1655) being shells of P. confusa, a species that now seems to be extinct.” [2]

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References:  

[1] Michael G. Hadfield; Stephen E. Miller: Demographic Studies on Hawaii’s Endangered Tree Snails: Partulina proxima. Pacific Science 43(1): 1-16. 1989 
[2] Michael G. Hadfield; Lisa J. Hadway: Conservation status of tree snail species in the genus Partulina (Achatinellinae) on the Island of Hawai’i: a modern and historical perspective. Pacific Science 53(1): 1-14. 1999  

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Depiction from: ‘G. W. Tryon; H. A. Pilsbry; a.o.: Manual of Conchology. Second series: Pulmonata, Vol. 22: Achatinellidae. 1912-1914’  

(public domain)

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edited: 17.06.2020