Who is this New Snail in the Garden🐌

Haploptychius sahyadriensis – New Snail species discovered in Maharashtra

The Western Ghats is full of surprises. The northern Western Ghats of Maharashtra has a new species of snail – Haploptychius sahyadriensis, a third in the genus Haploptychius. The species is endemic to Vishalgad Conservation Reserve in Kolhapur. Earlier in 1860s, the species H. andamanicus and H. pfeifferi were recorded in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

About the Species

Haploptychius sahyadriensis is different from the other Indian and South-East Asian Haploptychius sp. It has a suboblique-heliciform shell, a low spire, and a strong parietal lamella. The researchers placed the new species in the genus Haploptychius based on the shell morphology and genital characters.

The new species has unique genital anatomy in having a long penis with a penial sheath, the presence of penial appendix, penial hooks, atrium and vagina with longitudinal ridges and irregular transverse ridges respectively, but without any hooks. It bears a shiny muscle near the junction of the vagina, gametolytic duct and the free oviduct.

Further, it has been named after the type locality of the species in the northern part of the Western Ghats, which is Sahyadri in Sanskrit.

The finding has been published in the latest issue of Molluscan Research, an international journal. The study also read that other unexplored area in the northern Western Ghats may potentially harbour more undescribed land snail species which could be endemic.

Why are snails important?

Snails are important for the ecosystem. Shelled land snails are important in calcium cycling. They harvest calcium from their food, concentrate it in their shells that are made mainly from calcium carbonate, and pass it up the food chain as they are consumed by predators including insects, lizards, snakes, salamanders, birds, and mammals.

Land snails consume rotting vegetation like moist leaf litter, fungi and sometimes soil. They are also important players in the forest decomposition process and contribute to the nutrification of soils through their decaying bodies, shells, and faeces. These species are vital environmental indicators, biodiversity predictors and monitoring climate change. This calls for their conservation on high priority.

In many parts of the world, snail is consumed for protein intake. Studies suggest that snails are good sources of protein, iron, calcium, Vitamin A, and have low amounts of fat.

Snails in India

According to the India Biodiversity Portal, India has nearly 1,450 snails and slugs with the highest diversity in north-eastern India followed by the Western Ghats. They are the second-largest phylum after Arthropods. A species of freshwater snail was recently found in the foothills of the northeastern state of Mizoram. Scientifically named Pila mizoramensis, the species is the sixth member of the Pila genus from India and the second to inhabit hill streams. It is commonly known as Apple Snail.

Snails face the threat of habitat loss, climate change, pollution due to activities like dumping garbage, washing vehicles near the falls, damage to natural habitat areas, water pollution, and more. 

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