The status of the Partula snail species

In the 1970s and early 1980s the carnivorous snail Euglandina rosea was introduced in a catastrophic biological control programme. Euglandina ignored its intended target, the large and tough giant African snail Lissachatina/Achatina fulica and instead devoured the small and tender Partula snails. As a result at least 50 species of Partula are now completely extinct, a further 11 survive only in captivity and just 5 species still exist in the wild in French Polynesia. The captive breeding programme for the surviving species has been in place since the early 1990s and many species have existed only in small boxes in controlled conditions for many generations. Efforts are underway to find a way of returning them to the wild. This requires new approaches to conservation and reintroduction as there is no realistic prospect of eliminating Euglandina. Instead, we must find a way of enabling Partula to coexist with its introduced enemy.

Current status of Partula on the IUCN Red List: