# Partula faba > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Partula_faba > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Partula_faba.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partula_faba > Source revision: 1354938884 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Extinct species of snail}} {{Speciesbox | name = Captain Cook's bean snail | image = Partula faba live.png | image_caption = Live bean snails found in the wild in 1992. | status = EX | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=Coote, T. |date=2009 |title=''Partula faba'' |volume=2009 |article-number=e.T16288A5597344 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009-2.RLTS.T16288A5597344.en |access-date=11 November 2021}} | extinct = 2016 | genus = Partula | species = faba | authority = ([Gmelin](/source/Johann_Friedrich_Gmelin), 1791) | synonyms = }} '''''Partula faba''''', [commonly known](/source/common_name) as the '''bean snail''', '''Partula snail''',"[https://www.zsl.org/blogs/artefact-of-the-month/captain-cook-and-partula-snails Captain Cook and Partula snails]." London and Whipsnade Zoos. July 18th, 2018. Accessed July 31, 2022. or '''Captain Cook's bean snail''',"[http://islandbiodiversity.com/faba.htm Captain Cook's bean snail]." Island Biodiversity. Accessed July 31, 2022.{{efn|[Thomas Martyn](/source/Thomas_Martyn_(zoologist)), on the voyage of discovery with [James Cook](/source/James_Cook), named the snail ''Limax faba'' (bean snail) but left no record as to why.}} is an [extinct](/source/Extinction) [species](/source/species) of air-breathing [tropical](/source/tropical) [land snail](/source/land_snail), a [terrestrial](/source/terrestrial_molluscs) [pulmonate](/source/pulmonate) [gastropod](/source/gastropod) [mollusk](/source/mollusk) in the [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) [Partulidae](/source/Partulidae). This species was [endemic](/source/Endemism) to [Ra'iātea](/source/Ra'i%C4%81tea) and [Tahaa](/source/Tahaa), neighbouring islands which share the same lagoon, in [French Polynesia](/source/French_Polynesia). The species was the first ''[Partula](/source/Partula_(gastropod))'' to be recorded. ==Decline== In 1978, the [giant African land snail](/source/giant_African_land_snail), an [invasive species](/source/invasive_species), arrived into [French Polynesia](/source/French_Polynesia). The giant African snails wreaked havoc on the environment in [Ra'iātea](/source/Ra'i%C4%81tea). In the 1980s, as a counter measure against giant African land snails, ecologists introduced the small carnivorous snail ''[Euglandina rosea](/source/Euglandina_rosea)'', in an attempt to control the population. Instead of targeting the giant African snails, however, ''E. rosea'' targeted many native species of [Partulidae](/source/Partulidae), among them ''Partula faba'', as they were easier to attack and eat.{{cite podcast|url=https://www.thisamericanlife.org/776/transcript|title=I Work Better on Deadline|date = 29 July 2022|publisher=This American Life|time=44:17}} ===In captivity=== By 1992, scientists were concerned with the bean snail's population size. Justin Gerlach, now a fellow from [Cambridge University](/source/Cambridge_University), traveled to Ra'iātea to capture as many individuals of bean snails as possible. During his search, he went through a valley that had been swept through by ''E. rosea'' only a week prior, finding "hundreds of empty [bean snail] shells." Gerlach found only one bean snail in the entire valley. Shortly after, Gerlach found an old vanilla plantation where the predatory snails had not swept through, finding "dozens" of bean snails. These snails, believed to be the last of their kind, were put into tupperware containers, and flown to the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom), with some individuals eventually being sent to the [Bristol Zoo](/source/Bristol_Zoo).[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/bristol/somerset/8621496.stm "Bristol Zoo hopes to save last colony of tree snail "], BBC News, April 15, 2010. While at the Bristol Zoo, conservationists provided numerous resources into breeding programs of the bean snail. Melissa Bushell, one of the keepers of the bean snails during this time, described giving them a twice-weekly food regimen of oats, trout food pellets, and cuttlebone, as well as replacing the plastic wrap coverings of their enclosure. Conservationists and other zoo employees watched to see if the bean snails would reproduce. Offspring was produced, but for unknown reasons, their [net replacement rate](/source/net_replacement_rate) was not high enough to avoid extinction (i.e., the number of snails born was not greater than the number of snails dying). [Postmortem](/source/Postmortem), snails were dissected, preserved, and studied under [microscopy](/source/microscopy), but no cause was ever determined for this phenomenon. Since the end of 2010, the captive bean snail population had decreased from 80 individuals to just 9. On September 16, 2014, the snails were transferred to the [Edinburgh Zoo](/source/Edinburgh_Zoo). Within a year, eight of the remaining snails died, leaving the last known individual in captivity. Ross Poulter, the caretaker of the snails, checked on the last individual daily for around six months to see if it had reproduced, as some snail species can reproduce with themselves. However, the individual never reproduced, and the last bean snail died in February 2016.{{cite web|url=http://islandbiodiversity.com/faba.htm|title=Captain Cook's bean snail Partula faba|publisher=}} The snail was preserved in alcohol with the label "P. faba, last known individual." ==Subspecies== The species contained two subspecies. *''Partula faba'' ssp. ''faba'' – [Ra'iātea](/source/Ra'i%C4%81tea) *''Partula faba'' ssp. ''subangulata'' – [Tahaa](/source/Tahaa) ==Notes== {{notelist}} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * [http://islandbiodiversity.com/faba.htm ''Partula faba'' on PartulaPages] {{Taxonbar|from=Q3122902}} {{Partula species}} faba Category:Extinct gastropods Category:Gastropods described in 1791 Category:Taxa named by Johann Friedrich Gmelin Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Category:Species that are or were threatened by invasive species --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Partula faba](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partula_faba) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partula_faba?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.