Land Snails of the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, Brazil

Abstract

Oceanic island biotas are known by their high levels of endemism and high vulnerability. In Brazil, only few islands have been studied. The present study reports general information on the distribution and abundance of terrestrial gastropods of the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, a group of islands 345 km off the Brazilian coast. In total, four species of land snails were recorded: the endemics Hyperaulax ridleyi (Smith, 1890) and Ridleya quinquelirata (Smith, 1890), and the widely distributed Beckianum beckianum (Pfeiffer, 1846), and Allopeas gracile (Hutton, 1834). The most abundant species was H. ridleyi. By reporting the present situation of native land snails of Fernando de Noronha, this study provides data that could help in their conservation, comprising an important first step for planning future conservation strategies for the land biota of the whole archipelago.