Partula suturalis

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}} {{Speciesbox | image = Partula suturalis.jpeg | status = EW | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 15 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Coote, T. |date=2009 |title=''Partula suturalis'' |volume=2009 |article-number=e.T16281A5596154 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009-2.RLTS.T16281A5596154.en |access-date=15 November 2021}}</ref> | taxon = Partula suturalis | authority = Pfeiffer, 1855 | synonyms = }}

'''''Partula suturalis''''', commonly called the '''Moorean viviparous tree snail''' or the '''sutural partula''', is a species of air-breathing tropical land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Partulidae. This species was endemic to the island of Moorea, French Polynesia. It is now extinct in the wild. It was previously listed as extinct in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species,<ref name="iucn status 15 November 2021" /> but has been moved to extinct in the wild since 2009.<ref name="iucn status 15 November 2021" /> This error was the result of changing taxonomy (the subspecies were previously considered to be separate species).

== Subspecies == * ''Partula suturalis suturalis'' Pfeiffer, 1855 - extinct * ''Partula suturalis dendroica'' Crampton, 1924<ref>{{cite web| title=Partula suturalis dendroica| url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?lvl=0&id=543140| website=National Center for Biotechnology Information - Taxonomy browser | access-date=26 February 2014}}</ref> * ''Partula suturalis strigosa'' Pfeiffer, 1856 - extinct in the wild * ''Partula suturalis vexillum'' Pease, 1866 - extinct in the wild

== Extinction in the wild == ''Partula suturalis'' was extirpated due to the introduction of the carnivorous land snail ''Euglandina rosea'' (the rosy wolfsnail). In 1977, biologists deliberately released the rosy wolfsnail onto Moorea in an effort to control a previously introduced invasive species, the giant African land snail, ''Lissachatina fulica''. This release coincided with additional releases of rosy wolfsnails on Tahiti and other Society Islands in the 1980s and 1990s. The release of rosy wolfsnails on Moorea resulted in the extirpation of all 9 of the Moorean ''Partula'' species including ''Partula suturalis''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Teahwan |last2=Burch |first2=John B |last3=Coote |first3=Trevor |last4=Pearce-Kelly |first4=Paul |last5=Hickman |first5=Carole |last6=Meyer |first6=Jean-Yves |last7=Foighil |first7=Diarmaid |title=Moorean tree snail survival revisited: a multi-island genealogical perspective |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |volume=9 |page=204 |pmc=3087522 |year=2009 |pmid=19686604 |doi=10.1186/1471-2148-9-204 |doi-access=free }}</ref> By 1987, there were no remaining populations of ''Partula suturalis'' in the wild.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Coote |first1=Trevor |last2=Loeve |first2=Eric |title=From 61 species to five: endemic tree snails of the Society Islands fall prey to an ill-judged biological control programme |journal=Oryx |date=January 2003 |volume=37 |issue=1 |page=91 |doi=10.1017/S0030605303000176 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/43AC50C3FF363348CE0A93A8C0CD932D/S0030605303000176a.pdf/from_61_species_to_five_endemic_tree_snails_of_the_society_islands_fall_prey_to_an_illjudged_biological_control_programme.pdf |access-date=28 April 2019|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Interventions before extinction created captive populations of two of the four subspecies in international zoos and universities. The Partulid Global Species Management Programme manages the global captive population.

== Reintroduction efforts == Reintroduction of Moorean ''Partula'' snails, including ''Partula suturalis'', was attempted in 1994. However, the field reserve created on Moorea struggled with repeated predator incursions and was shut down in 1998. The experiment was successful in validating that individuals bred in captivity were capable of reproducing in the wild.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Coote |first1=Trevor |last2=Clarke |first2=Dave |last3=Hickman |first3=Carole Jean Stentz |last4=Murray |first4=James |last5=Pearce-Kelly |first5=Paul |title=Experimental Release of Endemic Partula Species, Extinct in the Wild, into a Protected Area of Natural Habitat on Moorea |journal=Pacific Science |date=July 2004 |volume=58 |issue=3 |page=429 |doi=10.1353/psc.2004.0028 |s2cid=20812190 }}</ref> Continued reintroduction efforts will be challenged by the continued spread of the invasive rosy wolfsnail.

== References == {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Taxonbar|from=Q2707615}} {{Partula species}}

suturalis Category:Fauna of French Polynesia Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Category:Taxa named by Ludwig Karl Georg Pfeiffer