Yue Zhu¹ , Liting Wang²

1 Aquatic Biology Research Center, Cuixi Academy of Biotechnology, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China
2 Hainan Institute of Biotechnology, Haikou, 570206, Hainan, China
Author    Correspondence author
International Journal of Super Species Research, 2025, Vol. 15, No. 1   
Received: 02 Dec., 2024    Accepted: 08 Jan., 2025    Published: 20 Jan., 2025

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

African land snails live in tropical and subtropical forests. The complex environment in these places has caused many snails to evolve into different appearances. Some species are actually "hidden" and no one has discovered them before. After research, scientists found that there is little genetic exchange between the populations of these snails, so snails in each place may have their own unique genes. These snails are very picky about where they live. Some like dead wood, some hide under thick fallen leaves, and some stay on exposed stones. These different "micro-environments" make the species and functions of snails particularly rich. Different snails react differently to changes in the surrounding environment, showing strong individual differences. In the past, climate changes and the fragmentation of forests also pushed these snails to slowly become different new species. In addition, snails have a certain ability to adapt to temperature changes, and this ability varies from species to species, indicating that they have strong adaptability to the local environment. These findings remind us to protect the various tiny habitats in African forests. Only in this way can we protect these unique land snails and their role in the ecosystem.

Cryptic diversity; Microhabitat specialization; African terrestrial snails; Forest ecosystems; Genetic differentiation