Emerald green snail facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Emerald green snail |
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| A close-up of the Papustyla pulcherrima shell | |
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Papuina pulcherrima |
The emerald green snail is a super cool creature! It's also known as the green tree snail or Manus green tree snail. Its scientific name is Papustyla pulcherrima. Sometimes, you might see it called Papuina pulcherrima.
This snail is a type of large, air-breathing tree snail. It's a land animal and a kind of gastropod mollusk in the family Camaenidae. Sadly, its beautiful shells were very popular for making jewelry. This made the snail almost threatened because too many were collected.
Where It Lives
The emerald green snail lives only on Manus Island. This island is part of Papua New Guinea. These snails make their homes in trees. They prefer rain forest areas. You can find them up to about 112 meters (367 feet) above sea level.
What It Looks Like
The shell of this snail is a bright, vivid green color. This is quite unusual for snails! But here's a secret: the green color isn't actually part of the hard, white shell. The shell itself is made of calcium carbonate, which is yellow underneath.
The green color comes from a very thin protein layer. This layer is on the outside of the shell. It's called the periostracum. So, the green is like a thin coat of paint on top of a yellow shell!
Protecting the Green Snail
Sadly, too many of these snails were collected. People wanted them for jewelry or for their shell collections. This "Overharvesting" caused the snail's population to drop a lot. Also, cutting down the rain forest where they live is a big problem for them [1].
Because of these threats, the snail and its shell are now protected. They are listed under CITES. This stands for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. It helps control trade in animals and plants.
The snail is also on the IUCN Red List. As of 2015, it's listed as "near threatened." This means it's close to being endangered. The Papustyla pulcherrima is also special in another way. It's the only foreign snail species listed as "Federally Endangered" in the United States. This protection started on June 2, 1970.
