Partula taeniata

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Partula taeniata, common name the Moorean viviparous tree snail, is a species of terrestrial gastropod in the Partulidae family. It is endemic to French Polynesia.^[1]

This species was considered to be extinct in the wild, but intensive field surveys have recently detected surviving wild populations.^[2]

Conservation status

The species is listed as Critically Endangered in the 2022 and 2024 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.^[1]

Previously it was incorrectly listed as extinct on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species from 1988 to 1994^[1] and as Extinct in the wild in the 1996 IUCN Red List, before being corrected to Critically Endangered in 2009,^[3] although two subspecies survive in captivity and one still exists in the wild.^[4] This error may be the result of changing taxonomy (the subspecies were previously considered to be separate species).

In 2010, a single Partula taeniata spp. simulans was transferred to the Edinburgh Zoo; the subspecies now has several hundred individuals surviving in captivity.^[5]

Subspecies

Listing of subspecies in the 2011 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (not up to date):

Partula taeniata elongata Pease, 1866 - extinct in the wild^[6] (rediscovered in 2003^[1])
Partula taeniata nucleola “Pease” Schmeltz, 1874 - extinct in the wild^[7] (rediscovered)
Partula taeniata simulans Pease, 1866 - extinct in the wild^[8]
Partula taeniata taeniata Mörch, 1850 - extinct^[9]

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