Snail believed extinct from climate change rediscovered

A snail once thought to have been among the first species to go extinct because of climate change has reappeared in the wild. The Aldabra banded snail, declared extinct seven years ago, was rediscovered on Aug. 23 in the Indian Ocean island nation of Seychelles. The mollusk, which is endemic to the Aldabra coral atoll - a UNESCO World Heritage Site - had not been seen on the islands since 1997, said the Seychelles Islands Foundation. A research team from the Seychelles Islands Foundation found seven of the purple-and-pink striped snails on Aldabra atoll's Malabar Island last week. The snail faces many pressures in Aldabra atoll. The coral islands grew atop an extinct volcano in the Indian Ocean. The isolated atoll, which also is home to the largest population of giant tortoises in the world, provides opportunities to study evolution and biodiversity. Conservationists are unsure how a terrestrial snail like the Aldabra banded snail initially reached these hot, dry islands surrounded by saltwater without drying out. The snail's apparent demise was linked to declining rainfall on Aldabra. © Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix