Partula spp in captivity

tetrapod

tetrapod

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Partula snails are the poster children of invert conservation success stories but surprisingly they don't show up much on the internet, mostly as Partula spp on individual zoo's sites. And as this group of species didn't gain much attention on my other thread http://www.zoochat.com/2/species-saved-conservation-461990/ i thought it might be worthwhile creating a new one.

As a group there are around 83 spp spread throughout the South Pacific, with 51 spp extinct and 11 extinct in the wild. The ones we are most 'familiar' with are those that are/were found in French Polynesia.

Any improvements on following details are much appreciated.

My list so far of spp in or were in captivity:
?19 spp + 3 subspp (11 spp extinct in wild) - numbers differ depending on sources

Similar Partula - Partula affinis (CR), one tiny wild population remaining, successful in captivity (ZSL)
Huahine Tiny Partula - Partula arguta (EX), died in captivity 1992
Golden Partula - Partula aurantia (EX), died in captivity 1990s
Pale Partula - Partula clara (CR) , survives in wild, in captivity (ZSL)
Toothed Partula - Partula dentifera (EW), may be confused with Raiatea Ground Partula P. navigatoria, in captivity only (Bristol Zoo)
Raiatean Slender Mountain Partula - Partula dolorosa (EX), died in captivity 1992
Captain Cook's Bean Partula - Partula faba (EX) - died in captivity Feb 2016
Fat Guam Partula - Partula gibba, 306 ind (2012) in captivity (Marwell)
Rose-tipped Partula - Partula hebe (EW) subspp bella in captivity only (ZSL)
White Partula - Partula hyalina (VU), survives in wild, in captivity (ZSL)
Vinous Partula - Partula labrusca (EX), died in captivity 1995 or 2002
Miracle Partula - Partula mirabilis (EW) in captivity only (Bristol, ZSL)
Moorean Smooth Partula - Partula mooreana (EW) in captivity only (Durrell, ZSL)
Perverse Tahitian Partula- Partula otaheitana (CR), survives in wild, in captivity (ZSL)?
Tahitian Nodular Partula - Partula nodosa (EW), most abundant in captivity (Saint Louis, Woodland Park, ZSL?), reintroduced
Guam Streaked Tree Partula (CR) - Partula radiolata, survives in wild, in captivity (Durrell)
Sutured Partula - Partula suturalis (EW), subspp strigosa + vexillum (EW) in captivity only (Bristol, Shepreth, ZSL)
Ribbon Partula - Partula taeniata (CR), subspp elongata, nucleola + simulans (EW) in captivity only (Bristol, Durrell, Saint Louis, ZSL)
Moorean Viviparous Partula - Partula tohiveana (EW) in captivity only (Shepreth, ZSL)
Mournful Partula - Partula tristis (EW), has been confused with Garrett's Partula - Partula garrettii , in captivity only (ZSL)
Clark's Tree Partula - Partula turgida (EX) died in captivity in 1996
Variable Partula - Partula varia (EW), in captivity only

Largely based on Justin Gerlach's The Partula pages Common names have been probably created by Gerlach, which I feel is probably fair enough if you want gain some attention from a wider audience. He has written a book covering Partula https://www.amazon.co.uk/Snailing-R...qid=1474833293&sr=1-1&keywords=justin+gerlach - anybody read it?
 
A fascinating summary tetrapod. Thanks for this! Do you happen to know where the last extinct animals died?
I noticed that Partula rosea is missing - has taxonomy changed or had it just missed the list?
 
devilfish said:
A fascinating summary tetrapod. Thanks for this! Do you happen to know where the last extinct animals died?
I noticed that Partula rosea is missing - has taxonomy changed or had it just missed the list?
Click to expand...
Can fill in the details for two of the extinct species, at least:

The final Partula faba was at Edinburgh, whilst the final Partula turgida was at ZSL London.
 
tetrapod said:
Partula snails are the poster children of invert conservation success stories but surprisingly they don't show up much on the internet, mostly as Partula spp on individual zoo's sites.
....
Any improvements on following details are much appreciated.
Click to expand...

It is perhaps worth pointing out that your list only includes the zoos in English-speaking countries that maintain these snails. Although a number of British zoos maintain the largest number of species, several are also maintained at zoos in the Netherlands (Artis), Denmark (Randers; they took over Copenhagen's project in 2009), Latvia (Riga), Poland (Poznan) and France (Thoiry).

The 2007/2008 EAZA Terrestrial Invertebrate TAG for Partula isn't up-to-date, but it's still useful and online: http://eaza.portal.isis.org/activities/cp/yearbook20072008/01_Terrestrial_Invertebrate_TAG.pdf

Furthermore, the French Polynesian Partula snails aren't alone. There are also other Pacific island snails (e.g., Achatinella, Hawaiian Partula) where captive breeding plays an important role in their continued survival, although their management generally involves non-zoo organizations.
 
Since I already added a few other snails in my previous post, it is perhaps also worth mentioning the aquatic snail Aylacostoma brunneum, which only survives in captivity. As far as I know, this is the only aquatic snail that has been saved like this. This species was restricted to rapids that disappeared when the Yacyretá Dam opened; a few relatives became entirely extinct (none in captivity) when it opened.
This may repeat itself soon: The fish species that may well go extinct/extinct in the wild with the opening of the Belo Monte Dam have received some media attention (especially the zebra pleco). However, the same rapids are home to several distinctive aquatic snails found no where else in the world; indeed they provide a stable food for many of the catfish species found there. I'm not aware of anyone having started a captive breeding program for any of these snails. Some may survive in the remaining dwindling rapids of Volta Grande, but it rather likely that many will disappear.
 
devilfish said:
A fascinating summary tetrapod. Thanks for this! Do you happen to know where the last extinct animals died?
I noticed that Partula rosea is missing - has taxonomy changed or had it just missed the list?
Click to expand...

Not sure how rosea was missed, but definitely still exists as a species. Extinct in Wild, held at Marwell (amongst others).
 
temp said:
It is perhaps worth pointing out that your list only includes the zoos in English-speaking countries that maintain these snails. Although a number of British zoos maintain the largest number of species, several are also maintained at zoos in the Netherlands (Artis), Denmark (Randers; they took over Copenhagen's project in 2009), Latvia (Riga), Poland (Poznan) and France (Thoiry).

The 2007/2008 EAZA Terrestrial Invertebrate TAG for Partula isn't up-to-date, but it's still useful and online: http://eaza.portal.isis.org/activities/cp/yearbook20072008/01_Terrestrial_Invertebrate_TAG.pdf

Furthermore, the French Polynesian Partula snails aren't alone. There are also other Pacific island snails (e.g., Achatinella, Hawaiian Partula) where captive breeding plays an important role in their continued survival, although their management generally involves non-zoo organizations.
Click to expand...

Cheers temp! Have modified my list to fit data on the EAZA TAG list but obviously may be out of date. Realised that there were a load more Partula scattered over the South Pacific as well as the other species mentioned. Do you have have any info on captive breeding programs for any of them?
 
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