Type Specimens of Hawaiian Land Snails in the Paleontological Research Institution in Ithaca, New York

Abstract

Abstract: The diversity of Hawaiian land snails was once extraordinary, both in terms of the number of species and the unparalleled levels of endemism. Habitat loss and the establishment of non-native species that prey on native snails have resulted in catastrophic declines in Hawaii's native land snails in the last century, and many are now critically endangered or extinct. Despite these losses, some species persist, and recent surveys have identified remnant populations of several species previously thought extinct. To effectively manage these remaining taxa and to understand what has been lost, the systematics of the land snail fauna of Hawaii needs revision; this will facilitate accurate identification of threatened species, discovery of undescribed species, and a fuller understanding of native land snail evolution and conservation. The development of type catalogs for all major museum collections holding type material of Hawaiian land snails is a necessary first step in this revisionary process. Here we describe the type material at the Paleontological Research Institute (PRI) in Ithaca, New York. Most of the type collection of Hawaiian land snails at PRI was acquired from Wesley Newcomb through the Cornell Museum. Newcomb described 126 species and varieties of endemic Hawaiian land snails, of which the PRI Hawaiian land snail collection contains type material for 74 nominal species-group taxa belonging to the Achatinellidae and Amastridae. Eighteen of these are recognized as primary type material (i.e., syntypes or lectotypes, there are no holotypes or neotypes).