Partula turgida

Partula turgida
Shell of a Partula turgida at the National Museum of Scotland
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Stylommatophora
Family: Partulidae
Genus: Partula
Species:
†P. turgida
Binomial name
†Partula turgida
(Pease, 1865)

Partula turgida, also known as the Raiatean thin-shelled partula,[2] is an extinct species of air-breathing tropical land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Partulidae. This species was endemic to Ra'iātea, French Polynesia.[citation needed] It is now extinct.

Partula clarkei, misidentified as this species, was being kept alive in captivity,[citation needed] when the population suffered a crash caused by the microsporidian genus Steinhausia. This is the first definitive report of an extinction of a species caused by a parasite.

The genus Partula was presumed to have been established around 1.5 million BC.[3]

Description

As with other Partula species, P. turgida measured under two centimeters. It was stated to cover less than two feet of distance annually. P. turgida consumed algae found on tree leaves, as well as dead vegetation.[4]

Distribution and habitat

Partula turgida was endemic to Ra'iātea, French Polynesia.[5]

Extinction

Partula turgida began significantly decreasing at the beginning of the 20th century, partially due to habitat loss, but more significantly due to the introduction of African giant land snails (Lissachatina fulica).[4] Foreigners brought the African giant land snails to the region as "foodstuffs" in 1967,[4] though some sources claim they were also used as "garden ornaments".[6] Shortly after their introduction, the African giant land snails began decimating the native Partula turgida population. In the 1970s, conservationists imported the rosy wolf snail (Euglandina rosea) to reduce the African giant land snail's population.[4][7] However, the rosy wolf snail preferred Partula species over the African giant land snails, causing the extinction of 27 tree snail species within a decade of its introduction.[4]

As an additional conservation effort, a captive breeding program was initiated at the London Zoo in the early 1990s,[8][9] including 296 P. turgida. Within a few years however, many of the captured specimens had died, with the P. turgida population dropping under 10. Post-mortem analyses of the snails indicated they had been infected by protozoa likely belonging to the microsporidian genus Steinhausia. Because species of this genus typically infect aquatic snails, researchers believed the snail deaths may have been caused by a new species.[4][5]

The last known Partula turgida, Turgi, died 31 January 1996 at the London Zoo. After Turgi's death, the zoo erected a tombstone stating, "1.5 million years BC to January 1996" to mark the species' extinction.[6] Turgi was named in the 2022 children's book The Late, Great Endlings: Stories of the Last Survivors, written by Deborah Kerbel and illustrated by Aimee van Drimmelen.[10]

Partula turgida's population decrease and eventual extinction was closely watched and documented.[6] It also marked the first known instance of a parasite causing a species' extinction.[4][5]

References

  1. ^ Coote, T. (2009). "Partula turgida". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2009 e.T16331A5603037. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009-2.RLTS.T16331A5603037.en. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  2. ^ Gerlach, Justin (4 September 2017). "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Partula turgida". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Archived from the original on 29 April 2025.
  3. ^ Nevin, Charles (4 February 1996). "Farewell, Turgi ... safe seats update ... lunching by numbers". The Independent. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Lydia, Pyne (2022). Endlings: Fables for the Anthropocene. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-1-5179-1483-7.
  5. ^ a b c Cunningham A. A. & Daszak P. (1998). "Extinction of a Species of Land Snail Due to Infection with a Microsporidian Parasite". Conservation Biology. 12 (5): 1139–1141. Bibcode:1998ConBi..12.1139C. doi:10.1046/j.1523-1739.1998.97485.x. JSTOR 2387588. S2CID 85093320.
  6. ^ a b c "SCIENCE FILE / An exploration of issues and trends affecting science, medicine and the environment : World's Last Polynesian Tree Snail Dies at London Zoo". Los Angeles Times. 1 February 1996. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
  7. ^ McCarthy, Erin (13 December 2025). "8 Animals That Recently Went Extinct". Mental Floss. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
  8. ^ Macknight, Lauren (22 March 2023). "The End of the Line: "Endlings" and what their stories tell us about the planet, its inhabitants, and ourselves". Life & Letters. The University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
  9. ^ Lee, Taehwan; Meyer, Jean-Yves; Burch, John B.; Pearce-Kelly, Paul; Foighil, Diarmaid Ó (October 2008). "Not completely lost: two partulid tree snail species persist on the highest peak of Raiatea, French Polynesia". Oryx. 42 (4): 615–619. doi:10.1017/S0030605308001427. ISSN 1365-3008.
  10. ^ Jorgensen, Krista (Winter 2022–2023). "The Late, Great Endlings: Stories of the Last Survivors". Canadian Children's Book News. 45 (4). Toronto: 37–38 – via ProQuest.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partula_turgida