Achatinella apexfulva

The family Achatinellidae, to which Achatinella apexfulva belongs, represents a diverse adaptive radiation. All species of tree-snail in Hawaii are believed to have come from a single ancestral snail. How that ancestral snail made the trip across the ocean is unknown. A longstanding theory is that a bird carried a notably smaller ancestor across the ocean and dropped it on the islands, as bird mediated dispersal has been documented in other snail species. Alternative theories include that it floated across the ocean on a mat of debris, or that it island-hopped across the Pacific in a combination of the theories. Within the Achatinellidae, A. apexfulva belongs to the Oahu clade, which evolved on Oahu island and includes most other members of the genus Achatinella. ==Subspecies==

• Achatinella apexfulva alba Sykes, 1900 • Achatinella apexfulva albipraetexta Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva albofasciata (E. A. Smith, 1873) • Achatinella apexfulva aloha Pilsbry & C. M. Cooke, 1914 • Achatinella apexfulva apexfulva (G. Dixon, 1789) • Achatinella apexfulva apicata L. Pfeiffer, 1856 • Achatinella apexfulva aureola Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva bakeri Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva bruneola Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva brunosa Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva buena Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva cervixnivea Pilsbry & C. M. Cooke, 1914 • Achatinella apexfulva cestus Newcomb, 1854 • Achatinella apexfulva chromatacme Pilsbry & C. M. Cooke, 1914 • Achatinella apexfulva cinerea Sykes, 1900 • Achatinella apexfulva coniformis (Gulick, 1873) • Achatinella apexfulva cookei D. D. Baldwin, 1895 • Achatinella apexfulva duplocincta Pilsbry & C. M. Cooke, 1914 • Achatinella apexfulva ewaensis Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva flavida (Gulick, 1873) • Achatinella apexfulva flavitincta Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva forbesiana L. Pfeiffer, 1855 • Achatinella apexfulva fumositincta Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva fuscostriata Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva glaucopicta Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva globosa L. Pfeiffer, 1855 • Achatinella apexfulva griseibasis Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva gulickii (E. A. Smith, 1873) • Achatinella apexfulva hanleyana L. Pfeiffer, 1856 • Achatinella apexfulva ihiihiensis Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva innotabilis (E. A. Smith, 1873) • Achatinella apexfulva irwini Pilsbry & C. M. Cooke, 1914 • Achatinella apexfulva kahukuensis Pilsbry & C. M. Cooke, 1914 • Achatinella apexfulva kawaiiki Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva laurani Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva lemkei Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva leucorraphe (Gulick, 1873) • Achatinella apexfulva leucozona (Gulick, 1873) • Achatinella apexfulva lilacea (Gulick, 1873) • Achatinella apexfulva lineipicta Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva meadowsi Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva muricolor Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva napus L. Pfeiffer, 1855 • Achatinella apexfulva nigripicta Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva oioensis Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva oliveri Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva ovum L. Pfeiffer, 1857 • Achatinella apexfulva paalaensis Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva parvicolor Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva paumaluensis Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva perplexa Pilsbry & C. M. Cooke, 1914 • Achatinella apexfulva pilsbryi Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva poamohoensis Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva polymorpha (Gulick, 1873) • Achatinella apexfulva punicea Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva roseata Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva roseipicta Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva rubidilinea Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva rubidipicta Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva simulacrum Pilsbry & C. M. Cooke, 1914 • Achatinella apexfulva simulans Reeve, 1850 • Achatinella apexfulva simulator Pilsbry & C. M. Cooke, 1914 • Achatinella apexfulva steeli Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva suturafusca Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva suturalba Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva tuberans (Gulick, 1873) • Achatinella apexfulva versicolor (Gulick, 1873) • Achatinella apexfulva vespertina D. D. Baldwin, 1895 • Achatinella apexfulva virgatifulva Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva vittata Reeve, 1850 • Achatinella apexfulva wahiawa Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva waialaeensis Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva wailelensis Welch, 1942 • Achatinella apexfulva waimaluensis Welch, 1942 ==Distribution==

This species was endemic to forests of the island of Oahu in the Hawaiian archipelago, United States, but is now extinct. It was listed as federally endangered since 1981. A major cause of its population decline in the wild was predation by the rosy wolfsnail. The rosy wolfsnail, a central-American native, was introduced to Hawaii in the 1950s to control agricultural pests. Other causes of the snail's decline included loss of habitat due to deforestation, introduction of rats, and the introduction of Jackson's chameleon. The problems that A. apexfulva faced are not unique: estimated extinction rates in the family Achatinellidae range between 75% and 90%. The International Union for Conservation of Nature's last study on A. apexfulva was conducted in 1996 and listed the species as critically endangered. ==George==

In 1997, in response to rapidly dwindling populations, all known remaining specimens of A. apexfulva were collected and bred in captivity. Most offspring died of unknown causes, but one successful offspring was born. This individual was named George, after Lonesome George, a Pinta Island tortoise from the Galapagos Islands who was also the last of his kind. By April 2011, George was the only remaining member of the species. In January 2019, George died at age 14 leaving the species reportedly extinct. ==Ecology==

While A. apexfulva lived on the leaves of trees, it was not herbivorous. Its diet consisted of algae and mold that it ate off leaves. ==Notes==