Researchers have discovered a new species of land snail in Kenting National Park, notable for its tiny size of just 2mm.
The eagle-eyed research team that spotted the new species, named Hypselostoma kentingensis after the area it was discovered, was headed by National University of Kaohsiung Department of Life Science assistant professor Hwang Chung-chi (黃重期).
They discovered the species during a field survey in 2010, and the finding was published in January last year in the Bulletin of Malacology, a journal of the Malacological Society of Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
That people can still find an unidentified species of snail in low-lying areas like Kenting means “we still have limited knowledge of the biodiversity of this land,” Hwang said on Wednesday.
Hypselostoma is a genus of very small air-breathing land snails with whorl shells that have wide openings relative to their size.
The new find brings the number of recorded air-breathing land snail species at the national park to over 30, Kenting National Park Headquarters said.
According to the park, Hypselostoma kentingensis was hard to spot because of its size as well as its coloring, which is similar to the rocks in its habitat.
The snail lives on hillside lime rocks and is able to tolerate hot and dry environments, but is only active at night and in wet weather, the park headquarters said, adding that the species is similar to snails with wide openings in Luzon, the Philippines and Miyakojima, Okinawa, leading to speculation that they are related to these species.
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