Partula faba

Partula faba (bean snail,[2] Partula snail,[2] or Captain Cook's bean snail[3][lower-alpha 1]) is an extinct[4] species of air-breathing tropical land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Partulidae. This species was endemic to Ra'iātea and Tahaa, neighbouring islands which share the same lagoon, in French Polynesia. The species was the first Partula to be recorded.[4]

Partula faba
Shells of Partula faba

Extinct in the Wild  (IUCN 3.1)[1] (Outdated status)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Heterobranchia
Order: Stylommatophora
Family: Partulidae
Genus: Partula
Species:
†P. faba
Binomial name
†Partula faba
(Gmelin, 1791)

In captivity

From 1991 zoos in the United Kingdom fought to save this species from extinction. For a while this was successful but a slow decline set in. Bristol Zoo and then Edinburgh Zoo were entrusted with the last-known colony of these snails.[5] This was not a success and the last snail died in February 2016.[4]

Subspecies

The species contained two subspecies.

  • Partula faba ssp. faba – Raiatea
  • Partula faba ssp. subangulata – Tahaa

Reasons for decline

The introduction of the small carnivorous snail Euglandina rosea in the 1980s caused the decline of many native species of Partulidae, among them Partula faba.

Notes
  1. Thomas Martyn, on the voyage of discovery with James Cook, named the snail Limax faba (bean snail) but left no record as to why.[3]

References
  1. Coote, T. (2009). "Partula faba". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2009: e.T16288A5597344. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009-2.RLTS.T16288A5597344.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. "Captain Cook and Partula snails." London and Whipsnade Zoos. July 18th, 2018. Accessed July 31, 2022.
  3. "Captain Cook's bean snail." Island Biodiversity. Accessed July 31, 2022.
  4. "Captain Cook's bean snail Partula faba".
  5. "Bristol Zoo hopes to save last colony of tree snail ", BBC News, April 15, 2010.
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