The world ’s solitary state escargot and last live of its species , Achatinella apexfulva , known to locals simply as “ George , ” died on New Year ’s Day , kill with it hope for a species - spacious recovery .
consort to apress releasefrom Hawaii ’s Department of Land and Natural Resources ( DLNR ) , George served as an “ ambassador for the plight of the Hawaiian land snail , ” making headlines in local newspapers and think about century of school tike over the year . The 14 - twelvemonth - old land escargot got his name from the Pinta Island Galapagos tortoise dubbed “ Lonesome George , ” also the last of his species .
“ While from vastly unlike evolutionary lineages , these Georges lived mere lifetime in captivity . Both quietly carried millions of years of evolution – their entire genome and design for how to make them – into oblivion , ” spell Hawaii DLNR in an obituary - styleFacebook Emily Post .
A. apexfulvawas the first of over 750 species of realm snails from Hawaii that were described in western science , with its first reference see back to 1787 when a captain coined the new species after seeing its shield on a gifted lei . Characterized by a chickenhearted crown known as an “ apex fulva,”A. apexfulvawas once common in the region and were used to make leis , given their accessibility . Researchers collected the last 10 known specimen in 1997 and bring them back to a lab at the University of Hawaii for captive breeding . While some offspring were produced , all but George eventually give way .
“ George matured in a John Milton Cage Jr. by himself , and although we call up him a " he , " thesnail was a androgyne , let both male and distaff parts . Unfortunately , A. apexfulvaseem to have been an obligate outcrossing species , meaning that it needed a married person to reproduce , ” explain Hawaii DLNR , concluding that stay species of Hawaiian land snail face threat from invading species and climate modification .
“ woefully , his passing is also a harbinger of what ’s to number for our remaining K?huli ( tree snail ) if more is not done quickly to protect them from invading species and mood alteration . Many of the island ’s remaining terra firma snails are confront imminent extinction , ” wrote Hawaii DLNR .
A 2 - mm snipping of George ’s foot was collected in 2017 for scientific determination and remains alive in a deep freezing at San Diego’sFrozen Zoo ® .
“ While it is presently not possible to clone a snail , it certainly will be someday , ” concluded Hawaii DNLR . “ George may yet live again ! "
[ H / T : Earther ]
