The Status of Florida Tree Snails (Liguus fasciatus), Introduced to Everglades National Park
Jones AL, Winte EC, Bass OL. 1981. The Status of Florida Tree Snails (Liguus fasciatus), Introduced to Everglades National Park. SFRC T-622. South Florida Natural Resources Center. Homestead, Florida
The Florida tree snail, Liguus fasciatus, in the family Bulimulidae, is unique among land snails in North America because of its bright colors and variable patterns. This species is tropical in origin being derived from West Indian forms. it is restricted to the tropical hardwood hammocks scattered throughout south Florida including the Florida Keys. There are 58 named color forms. Of these, 10 are extinct in their native habitat and 4 may soon become extinct. Other color forms are threatened by the eminent destruction of their habitat. It was the threat of extinction that prompted four snail collectors (Jones, Winte, Humes, and Von Paulsen) to approach the Superintendent of Everglades National Park in 1957 with the idea of introducing threatened color forms into the park. This report summarizes the results of this 23-year project.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Jones, Archie; Winte, Erwin; Bass, Oron
- Date of Issue
- 1981-04
- Publisher
- South Florida Natural Resources Center
- Units
- EVER
- Keywords
- everglades, SFNRCTRS, tree snail