Achatinella lila

Achatinella lila is the first Hawaiian achatinelline to be reintroduced from captive stocks, a significant milestone in the conservation of the endemic gastropod fauna of the islands. Achatinellines have long generation lengths, caused by slow maturity (5 years) and reproductive rates (1-7 offspring per year depending on the species). The snails also have significantly long lifespans (>10 years), making these species particularly prone to population declines as a result of invasive predators, habitat alteration, and over-collection. Prior to the modern reintroductions, the species was limited to a single wild population in the Ko'olau Mountains of Oahu. Six snails from the imperiled population were taken in 1997, and along with their offspring were grown until introductions were possible, in numbers of 50 snails per cohort. Frequent photograph-based identification monitoring occurs, along with searches for shells of dead individuals. Future conservation measures include continued monitoring and augmentation of the current population with new cohorts.^[6]

This article incorporates public domain text (a public domain work of the United States Government) from reference.^[5]

Media related to Achatinella lila at Wikimedia Commons

• Price M. R. & Hadfield M. G. (2014). "Population Genetics and the Effects of a Severe Bottleneck in an Ex Situ Population of Critically Endangered Hawaiian Tree Snails". PLOS One 9(12): e114377. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0114377.