The Polymita Picta, a snail endemic to Cuba, is today one of the five nominees to win the Mollusk of the Year 2022 condition in the contest promoted by the Loewe Center for Translational Genomics of Biodiversity in Germany.
According to the information disclosed by the entity, the Antillean species is famous for its colorful shell variation and its enigmatic “love dart”, a device for stabbing mating partners in order to transfer sexual hormones.
It is only found in the east of the country, in a wide variety of environments, from xerophytic shrub forests to tropical jungles and plantations where they benefit local agriculture, by eating the moss and lichens on the leaves, the report abounded.
The source estimated that it is possibly the most beautiful snail in the world, whose size ranges from two to three centimeters wide, with shades of yellow, red, green, orange, white, black or pink, with striking spiral bands.
The specimen that wins the most votes in the contest will be subjected to genome studies and will be promoted internationally to emphasize the importance of its conservation.
In the case of the polymite, Loewe felt that research on this iconic animal would provide the basis for understanding the evolutionary origin of shell color variation and the “love dart” firing behavior.
In addition, since snails are in danger of extinction due to habitat loss and poaching, genomic resources would help establish conservation units, by protecting this species and serving as an umbrella in the care of various specimens in the same ecosystem.
Other candidates in the contest are the scaphopod Fustiaria rubescens, known as barge foot and found in both the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Atlantic Ocean; and the telescope snail, also called berongan, rodong, and mudcreeper, found in mangrove forests throughout the Indian Ocean.
Also on the list is the Cymbulia peronii, or sea butterfly; and the Teredo navalis or naval worm, a clam whose habitats are tropical and subtropical sites.
Voting can be accessed through the center’s official website.
