O'ahu tree snail
2681541
212270842
2008-05-14T03:11:18Z
Wmpearl
4405560
image added
{{Taxobox
| name = O{{okina}}ahu tree snail
| image =
| image_width = 240px
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Mollusca]]
| classis = [[Gastropoda]]
| ordo = [[Pulmonata]]
| familia = [[Achatinellidae]]
| genus = '''''Achatinella'''''
| genus_authority = Swainson, 1828
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = See text.
}}
[[Image:O'ahu tree snail shells collected ca. 1933 at an elevation of 1500 feet on Waialae Ridge in Honolulu, Hawaii, Waialae Country Club.JPG|thumb|right|300px|[[O'ahu tree snail]] shells collected ca. 1933 at an elevation of 1500 feet on Waialae Ridge in [[Honolulu, Hawaii]], [[Waialae Country Club]]]]
'''O{{okina}}ahu tree snails''' are a large group of colorful tropical tree-living air-breathing land snails, [[arboreal]] [[pulmonate]] [[gastropod]] [[mollusk]]s in the genus '''''Achatinella'''''. They live in [[Hawaii]], and they are all endangered.
O{{okina}}ahu tree snails were once abundant. They were mentioned in Hawaiian folklore and songs, and their shells were used in [[Lei (Hawaii)|lei]] and other ornaments.
Many of these [[arboreal]] snails are [[wiktionary:sinistral|sinistral]] or left-handed in their [[spiral]] shell coiling, whereas most gastropod shells are [[wiktionary:dextral|dextral]]. (See the section on [[chirality]] in the article [[gastropod shell]].
==Distribution==
There are around 40 species of O{{okina}}ahu tree snail [[endemic (ecology)|endemic]] to [[Hawaii|Hawaiian]] island of [[O`ahu]].
==Conservation status==
All 40 species are listed under [[United States]] federal legislation as [[endangered species|endangered]]. The [[IUCN]] lists a number of these species as [[extinction|extinct]] and the remainder as critically endangered.
==Shell description==
O{{okina}}ahu tree snails are diverse in patterns, colors, and shapes, but all average about 3/4 inch in length. Most have smooth, glossy, and oblong or ovate shells which show a variety of colors, including yellow, orange, red, brown, green, gray, black, and white.
==Habitat==
These snails are found on trees. Currently they are only found in mountainous dry to wet forests and shrublands above 1,300 feet.
==Life habits==
===Feeding===
These tree snails are [[nocturnal]], and feed by grazing [[fungus]] which grows on the surface of native plant leaves.
Although these tree snails are occasionally found on introduced plants, it is unknown whether or not the fungus which grows on these plants can provide long-term support for healthy breeding populations of these snails.
===Reproduction===
Adult snails are [[hermaphroditic]] (having both male and female reproductive organs) and can live for many years. These are live bearing snails (give birth to live snails instead of laying eggs).
===Predation and other threats===
Because growth rate and fertility are very low, these snails are especially vulnerable to loss of individuals through human collection, through predation, or because of other disturbances.
The most serious threats to the survival of O{{okina}}ahu tree snails are predation by the introduced [[carnivore|carnivorous]] snail (''[[Euglandina rosea]]''), predation by [[rat]]s, and loss of habitat due to the spread of non-native vegetation into higher elevation forests.
==Species==
* ''[[Achatinella abbreviata]]''
* ''[[Achatinella apexfulva]]''
* ''[[Achatinella bellula]]''
* ''[[Achatinella buddii]]''
* ''[[Achatinella bulimoides]]''
* ''[[Achatinella byronii]]''
* ''[[Achatinella caesia]]''
* ''[[Achatinella casta]]''
* ''[[Achatinella clausinus]]''
* ''[[Achatinella concavospira]]''
* ''[[Achatinella curta]]''
* ''[[Achatinella decipiens]]''
* ''[[Achatinella decora]]''
* ''[[Achatinella dimorpha]]''
* ''[[Achatinella dolium]]''
* ''[[Achatinella faba]]''
* ''[[Achatinella fulgens]]''
* ''[[Achatinella fuscobasis]]''
* ''[[Achatinella juddii]]''
* ''[[Achatinella juncea]]''
* ''[[Achatinella lehuiensis]]''
* ''[[Achatinella lila]]''
* ''[[Achatinella livida]]''
* ''[[Achatinella lorata]]''
* ''[[Achatinella mustelina]]''
* ''[[Achatinella papyracea]]''
* ''[[Achatinella phaeozona]]''
* ''[[Achatinella pulcherrima]]''
* ''[[Achatinella pupukanioe]]''
* ''[[Achatinella solitaria]]''
* ''[[Achatinella sowerbyana]]''
* ''[[Achatinella spaldingi]]''
* ''[[Achatinella stewartii]]''
* ''[[Achatinella taeniolata]]''
* ''[[Achatinella thaanumi]]''
* ''[[Achatinella turgida]]''
* ''[[Achatinella valida]]''
* ''[[Achatinella vestita]]''
* ''[[Achatinella viridans]]''
* ''[[Achatinella vulpina]]''
==References==
* [[U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]]
[[Category:Achatinellidae]]
[[Category:Molluscs of Hawaii]]
[[Category:Endemic fauna of Hawaii]]
[[Category:Extinct Hawaiian animals]]