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Manus Island Tree Snail
Papustyla pulcherrima
The emerald green snail, green tree snail, or Manus green tree snail, scientific name Papustyla pulcherrima, sometimes listed as Papuina pulcherrima, is a species of large, air-breathing tree snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Camaenidae.
The shells of this species were in demand for making jewelry, and were popular with shell collectors and, partly as a result of this, the species is now near being threatened.
From the article Emerald green snail on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
The shell of this species is a vivid green color, which is unusual in snails. The green color is however not within the solid, calcium carbonate part of the shell but instead it is a very thin protein layer known as the periostracum. Under the periostracum the shell is yellow.
Range & habitat
P. pulcherrima is endemic to Manus Island in Papua New Guinea. This snail lives in trees, and inhabits rain forest areas up to 112 m (367 ft) above sea level.
Wikipedia: “Distribution and habitat”
Toxicity
Overharvesting of the species for commercial purposes led to a decline in the population of this snail. Logging of the rain forest where this species lives is also a serious threat to its survival.[1] The snail and its shell are protected under CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) and the species is listed in the IUCN Red List as near threatened as of 2015. Papustyla pulcherrima is the only foreign gastropod species that is listed as Federally Endangered in the United States since 3 June 1970.
Wikipedia: “Endangered”
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Papustyla pulcherrima in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 108406.