|Scientific Name:||Partula clara|
|Species Authority:||Pease, 1864|
|Taxonomic Notes:||Has always been considered a distinct species but DNA analysis suggests that it may be a colour morph of Partula hyalina and as such remains a candidate for merging. Populations in one valley are genetically distinct.|
|Red List Category & Criteria:||Critically Endangered B2ab(ii,iv) ver 3.1|
|Reviewer(s):||Cowie, R. & Seddon, M.B.|
After the introduction of the carnivorous snail Euglandina rosea to Tahiti in 1977, populations and species of native partulid snails began to disappear rapidly as a result of predation. This species became rarer but very small isolated populations persisted and these were identified during the intensive surveys on the main island of Tahiti Nui 2003–2005 and on the peninsula of Tahiti Iti in 2007.
|Range Description:||This species is endemic to Tahiti, Society Islands. It is now restricted to only a few small populations in a few valleys around the island.|
Native:French Polynesia (Society Is.)
|Range Map:||Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.|
|Population:||Small subpopulations are scattered around Tahiti, mostly consisting of less than 50 individuals.|
|Habitat and Ecology:||Habitat quality is not an issue for this species. Many populations survive in disturbed habitat, often not too far from human habitation.|
|Major Threat(s):||The principal threat to this species is Euglandina rosea but there is evidence that some populations have survived in spite of this introduced carnivorous species. The carnivorous flatworm Platydemus manokwari has been found in one area where P. clara persists but its imapct is unclear at the moment. The intrinsic problems associated with small population size also threaten the future of this species.|
|Conservation Actions:||This species is maintained in the international breeding programme. Some wild populations are regularly monitored.|
Coote, T. 2007. Partulids on Tahiti: differential persistence of a minority of endemic taxa among relict populations. American Malacological Bulletin 22: 83-87.
IUCN. 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2009.2). Available at: www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 3 November 2009).
Lee, T., Burch, J.B., Jung, Y., Coote, T., Pearce-Kelly, P. and Ó Foighil, D. 2007. Tahitian tree snail mitochondrial clades survived recent mass-extirpation. Current Biology 17(13): R502-R503.
|Citation:||Coote, T. 2009. Partula clara. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 30 March 2015.|
|Feedback:||If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown on this page, please provide us with feedback so that we can correct or extend the information provided|