safari experts, since 1991
See how we earn 5 starsTrustpilot - 5 stars
×
SEARCH OUR STORIES
SEARCH OUR SAFARIS
Africa Geographic Travel

EXTRACT TAKEN FORM THE FOLLOWING THIRD PARTY SOURCE: Seychelles News Agency

Amid news of rising sea levels, extreme weather patterns and species under threat of extinction, a tiny snail on a tropical island in the western Indian Ocean archipelago of Seychelles is giving scientists hope that nature may be more resilient than originally thought.

The Aldabra banded snail has a distinctively-hued purple shell intersected with bands of bright pink © Catherina Onezia/SIF
The Aldabra banded snail has a distinctively-hued purple shell intersected with bands of bright pink. © Catherina Onezia/SIF

The Aldabra banded snail (Rhachistia aldabrae), with its distinctively-hued purple shell intersected with bands of bright pink, endemic to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Aldabra Atoll, was last seen in 1997 on the islands of Picard, Malabar, Polymnie, Esprit and Grande Terre. After extensive searches of all the islands in the atoll, the species was declared extinct by Justin Gerlach in a paper published in 2007.

The Aldabra Atoll is one of the largest and most pristine raised coral atolls in the world. Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982, Aldabra is managed and protected by the Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF), a Public Trust established in 1979.

Aldabra is an undisturbed refuge for a variety of endangered species, including the world’s largest population of Aldabra giant tortoises and plays host to one of the largest congregations of nesting green sea turtles in the Indian Ocean.

It was thought that decreasing rainfalls in the atoll was the cause of the Aldabra banded snail’s demise, leading to widespread claims that the species was one of the first known casualties of climate change.

Aerial view of Aldabra ©SIF
Aerial view of Aldabra. © Seychelles Islands Foundation

Happily, however, it seems that the rare invertebrate has lived to fight another day after a junior staff member of SIF discovered a snail he did not recognise on 23 August 2014, according to a press statement from SIF. Junior Skipper Shane Brice was exploring dense mixed scrub in a rarely-visited area of Malabar, the second-largest island in the atoll.

“I was bush-bashing through the scrub when I spotted a mysterious snail that I’d never seen before on the island, I was very excited!” he said.

After hearing that the snail was found on an endemic tree, Senior Ranger and Assistant Training Officer Catherina Onezia felt a faint glimmering of hope that it might be the extinct snail. “When Shane showed me the snail I thought deep down, surely it can’t be the endemic snail! I only dared to believe it once I checked it out back at the office”.

After conducting further searches of the area, several other snails were found, including juvenile snails, which was viewed by the conservation experts as a very encouraging sign as the last juvenile snails were seen by scientists in 1976. The discovery was confirmed by Dr Vincent Florens, a mollusc expert from the University of Mauritius and famed Seychellois naturalist Pat Matyot.

The SIF believes that the discovery provides an: “incredible second chance to protect and study this historical species in the wild and ensure that it is not lost again”. Even though climate change may not have caused the snail’s actual demise as a species, changing weather patterns still put the rare snail at risk for its continued survival.

The re-discovered Aldabra banded snail © Catherina Onezia/SIF
The re-discovered Aldabra banded snail © Catherina Onezia/SIF

SIF’s Chief Executive officer, Dr Frauke Fleischer-Dogley said the re-discovery proved that investment and effort placed into protecting endemic island biodiversity were not in vain.

“This snail provides hope for other island species, of which we have already lost too many,” said Fleischer-Dogley. “I hope that those of the international community, who are meeting at the third international conference on small island developing states, take note that their investment is needed to generate such success. Nature has a resilience that may surprise us”.

To comment on this story: Login (or sign up) to our app here - it's a troll-free safe place 🙂.


HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF AFRICA GEOGRAPHIC:

  • Travel with us. Travel in Africa is about knowing when and where to go, and with whom. A few weeks too early / late and a few kilometres off course and you could miss the greatest show on Earth. And wouldn’t that be a pity? Browse our ready-made packages or answer a few questions to start planning your dream safari.
  • Subscribe to our FREE newsletter / download our FREE app to enjoy the following benefits.
  • Plan your safaris in remote parks protected by African Parks via our sister company https://ukuri.travel/ - safari camps for responsible travellers

AG Logo
About

A collection of current affairs articles and press releases from third party sources.

Subscribe to our newsletter and/or app
[wpforms id="152903"]
<div class="wpforms-container wpforms-container-full" id="wpforms-152903"><form id="wpforms-form-152903" class="wpforms-validate wpforms-form wpforms-ajax-form" data-formid="152903" method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data" action="/stories/extinct-snail-rediscovered-in-seychelles/" data-token="53f464fd16bc6141c645902ae073a1c7"><noscript class="wpforms-error-noscript">Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.</noscript><div class="wpforms-field-container"><div id="wpforms-152903-field_1-container" class="wpforms-field wpforms-field-email" data-field-id="1"><label class="wpforms-field-label wpforms-label-hide" for="wpforms-152903-field_1">Email Address <span class="wpforms-required-label">*</span></label><input type="email" id="wpforms-152903-field_1" class="wpforms-field-medium wpforms-field-required" name="wpforms[fields][1]" placeholder="Email " required></div></div><div class="wpforms-submit-container"><input type="hidden" name="wpforms[id]" value="152903"><input type="hidden" name="wpforms[author]" value="223"><input type="hidden" name="wpforms[post_id]" value="32728"><button type="submit" name="wpforms[submit]" id="wpforms-submit-152903" class="wpforms-submit" data-alt-text="Sending..." data-submit-text="Subscribe" aria-live="assertive" value="wpforms-submit">Subscribe</button><img src="https://africageographic.com/wp-content/plugins/wpforms/assets/images/submit-spin.svg" class="wpforms-submit-spinner" style="display: none;" width="26" height="26" alt="Loading"></div></form></div> <!-- .wpforms-container -->