News & Views
On the edge of extinction
The island of Nihoa, a slice of jagged rock that juts out of the Pacific Ocean, is the sole refuge for a rediscovered species of native Hawaiian land snail previously presumed to be extinct. First recorded in 1923, Endodonta christenseni has actually lacked a scientific name and description until now.
It is likely to be the last remaining species in the Endodonta genus. The other 11 species were collected and described more than 100 years ago and today are known only from museum specimens. A team of researchers from the Bishop Museum in Honolulu and the Florida Museum of Natural History found this sole survivor during a survey of more than 1,000 sites across the Hawaiian Islands.
The remote and bleak outcrop of Nihoa Island: home to the rare Pacific land snail called Endodonta christenseni.
Photo courtesy G. Wallace for the American Bird Conservancy, CC BY-NC 2.0
The scientific name E. christenseni honours Bishop Museum scientist Carl Christensen, an expert on Pacific island land snails and a strong advocate for their conservation.