Tag Archives: Palau

Coneuplecta turrita ssp. palauensis (Baker)

Palauan Coneuplectra Snail (Coneuplecta turrita ssp. palauensis)

This taxon was described in 1941, as a subspecies of a species that is believed to inhabit the Philippine Islands.

The Palauan Coneuplectra Snail seems to have been restricted to the island of Peleliu in the Palau archipelago, Micronesia.

The snail has not been found alive since 1936; in recent years only some few empty shells have been found and this form very likely is extinct now.

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This taxon almost certainly is a distinct species.

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edited: 19.08.2022

Aaadonta pelewana Solem

Palau Aaadonta Disc Snail (Aaadonta pelewana)  

The Palau Aaadonta Disc Snail was described in 1976 based on several (seven, as far as I’m aware) shells that had been found somewhere (the exact locality is not known) on the Palau Islands some 70 years ago (an exact date is not known to me).  

The shells of this tiny species reached a size of only about 0,28 cm in diameter. [1]  

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According to David Bullis (pers. comm.), who studies this genus in Palau, this species has indeed never been found since the type collection and may indeed be extinct, in my opinion it should best be referred to as ‘Data Deficient’.  

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References:  

[1] A. Solem: Endodontoid land snails from Pacific Islands (Mollusca: Pulmonata: Sigmurethra). Part I, Family Endodontidae. Field Museum of Natural History Chicago, Illinois 1976  

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edited: 10.05.2019

Timonius salsedoi Fosberg & Sachet

Malakal Timonius (Timonius salsedoi)

The Malakal Timonius was described in 1987 based on material that had been collected in 1965 on the tiny island of Malakal in the Koror urban district of Palau, which is situated almost in the middle of the Palauan archipelago, and which consists of the three islands of Koror, Ngarakebesang and Malakal.

The species was not found since and the authors, while describing it, made the assumption that it might in fact have just been some sort of variant of another Palauan Timonius species.

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C. Costion, a post doctoral research fellow on the department of Plant Biodiversity and Conservation Research, James Cook University in Queensland, Australia, had the opportunity in 2011 to undertake a field trip to the Koror urban district of Palau to search for this enigmatic plant species, and he actually found at least three Timonius species on the island, with two plants resembling the herbarium material.

The DNA of these two individuals was tested and they turned out to indeed be a distinct species.

The Malakal Timonius was rediscovered – but the whole population of this species consited of just two plants restricted to a single tiny island of less than 1 km² with only little remaining bits of native vegetation.

When C. Costion had the chance to revisit the island in 2014, he found the already small patches of remaining forests heavily destroyed with many of the larger trees fallen due to the typhoon Bopha that had hit the Palau Islands two years prior. 

The Malakal Timonius this time was not found again, the last two plants had vanished, ensuring that this species is another entry to the ever-growing list of recently extirpated life forms. [1][2][3]

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References:

[1] F. R. Fosberg; Marie-Hélène Sachet: The genus Timonius (Rubiaceae) in the Palau Islands. micronesica 20(1-2): 157-164. 1987
[2] Craig M. Costion; W. John Kress; Darren M. Crayn: DNA barcodes confirm the taxonomic and conservation status of a species of tree on the brink of extinction in the Pacific. PLoS ONE 11(6): e0155118. 2016
[3] Craig M. Costion: Plant discovery and extinction: The narrow window. Plant Press 19(4). 2016

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edited: 16.05.2019

Palline notera ssp. notera Solem

Peleliu Palline Snail (Palline notera ssp. notera)  

The nominate race of this species was restricted to the island of Peleliu, Palau Islands.  

The shells reached an average size of 0,19 to 0,24 cm in diameter.  

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The majority of the habitat of this, and other snail species from the island of Peleliu, was destroyed during World War II, when large areas of the island forests were destroyed – by the summer of 1944 the island was occupied by about 11000 Japanese soldiers, which had entrenched themselves in subterranean tunnel systems. The US-Army, which landed on the island in the September of the year 1944, deployed flamethrowers and grenades, but also napalm bombs, to deforest the Japanese positions.  

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Field searches in the years 2003, 2005, and 2007 were unsuccessful, and this form is now most probably extinct.  

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References:  

[1] Alan Solem: Endodontoid land snails from Pacific Islands (Mollusca: Pulmonata: Sigmurethra). Part II, Families Punctidae and Charopidae, Zoogeography. Field Museum of Natural History Chicago, Illinois 1983

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edited: 07.11.2020