Home > Illustration > Wildlife > Invertebrates > Gastropods > Hawaiian or Oahu Tree Snail

Hawaiian or Oahu Tree Snail

Hawaiian Tree Snail line art illustration (click image to enlarge)

Hawaiian Tree Snail full color illustration (click image to enlarge)

Artist's notes:

The Hawaiian Tree Snail was completed on 6.13.10. IT is based on a photo provided by Brenden Holland who is a Assistant Professor at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. He contacted me after I had mistakenly labeled a Giant African Land Snail as a Hawaiian Tree Snail. After a somewhat terse email exchange, he was kind enough to provide me with the image used to create this drawing.

Information about the Hawaiian Tree Snail:

This particular Hawaiian Tree Snail (Achatinella fulgens) is a critically endangered gastropod endemic to Hawaii. It is part of the family of Oahu tree snails which were devastated by the introduction of non-native snail and plant species to their fragile ecosystem. The snails are generally nocturnal, and can be found on native trees and large bushes, where they graze fungi from the surfaces of leaves and stems. Adults have both hermaphrodites male and female parts. When giving birth, the young are born live. Oahu tree snails are today restricted to mountainous forests above 1500 feet.