Why in the News?

• A team of researchers from India and the UK has discovered a new species of land snail in Maharashtra’s Konkan region and named it Theobaldius konkanensis.

Key Points:

Research Publication and Team:

⇒ Researchers published their findings in the Molluscan Research journal on 11th March 2025.

⇒ The study titled "A new species of cyclophorid land snail from the coastal regions of Maharashtra".

Endemic Status and Conservation Significance:

⇒ The species is endemic to the northern Western Ghats, a largely unexplored biodiversity hotspot.

⇒ Researchers emphasized the snail’s restricted distribution in Konkan, calling for urgent conservation efforts to preserve its ecological niche.

Habitat and Behaviour:

⇒ The snail prefers tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen forests.

⇒ Live snails were found from June to September in leaf litter and on damp branches; only shells were observed in other seasons.

⇒ The species is active both day and night, especially under shaded forest canopies.

Distinctive Morphological Traits:

⇒ The species has a thick, conoidally depressed, widely umbilicated shell with increasing whorls.

⇒ It has a yellowish-brown shell with black striations and unique operculum features—triangular aperture notch, raised fold, and short spines.

⇒ Its spire is more elevated compared to other Theobaldius species.

Ecology and Reproductive Biology:

⇒ Snails are most active in the monsoon and are important bioindicators sensitive to climate change.

⇒ Most land snails are hermaphrodites; some have separate sexes.

⇒ Reproduction involves courtship, dart-shooting, and both self- and cross-fertilisation.

⇒ Eggs are laid in soil or under litter; they hatch in 2–4 weeks.

⇒ Lifespan ranges from 2 to 7 years.