Partula Snails

Quick Facts Habitat: moist forest trees of South Pacific islands. Conservation: the Partula snails are threatened by predation and habitat destruction. Efforts to protect this snail include habitat protection, captive breeding, and attempting to control the introduced snails that prey on the Partula. Partula Vocabulary: altitude decaying carnivorous introduced species

partula
Physical Appearance: Over 100 species of Partula snails exist, and all of them vary somewhat in appearance. Most are approximately and inch long, and spiral patterned shells may be light or dark gray or brown in color. Some species may also have some white coloring in their shell patterns.
Geographic Range: Partula snails are found on the South Pacific Islands, such as Tahiti, Moorea, and Guam.
Habitat: Most Partula snails live in trees, in densely forested, high altitude volcanic regions of these islands. Some Partulas are found at lower altitudes, living in banana trees or on bamboo stalks. All Parula snails require a moist, rather than dry habitat.
Reproductive Cycle and Family Habits: Partula snails are somewhat unique in that they give birth to live, fully formed, shelled offspring.
Behavior: Older Partula snails tend to live higher in trees than do young individuals
Diet: Little is known for sure about the Partula diet, but most likely this species feeds on decaying plants and on microscopic plants that they find on the larger plants where they live.
Predators: The greatest predator facing the Partula snail is a carnivorous snail, Euglandina rosea.
Threats to Survival: The Euglandina rosea snail was brought to the islands where the Partulas live by people. The people of these islands hoped the Euglandina rosea would eat another snail, called the Giant African snail (Achatina fulica), that is an agricultural pest. The Giant African snail was also introduced to the islands accidentally by people, and is a problem for farmers trying to grow crops. But, since the Euglandina rosea was brought to the islands, it hasn't been very helpful in reducing the Giant African snail population, and instead has eaten nearly all of the Partulas. Partulas are also threatened by habitat destruction.
IUCN Status: There are many species of Partula snails, each with a different status. The Partulas of Moorea anbd Tahiti, however, are listed as endangered.
Conservation Efforts: There are many projects going on now to try to save the Partulas. The best way to protect Partulas would be to remove all Euglandia rosea from the South Pacific Islands. Until that happens, captive breeding has proved to be one of the best ways of expanding the Partula populations. There has been much research done on how to breed Partula snails in captivity, and there are now thousands of Parulas in zoos around the world. The John G. Shedd Aquarium, the Detroit Zoological Park, the London Zoological Society, and the Jersey Zoo have all participating in captive breeding efforts. The London Zoological Society released the first captive-bred Parulas into a protected area on the island of Moorea in August, 1994. Hopefully, Partulas released into areas where they are protected from the Euglandia rosea will survive and reproduce in the wild.
There are Partulas being bred at the Jersey Zoo in "snailariums."

Partula Resources

AZA General Info
AZA Conservation Info