Partula (gastropod)

Partula is a genus of air-breathing tropical land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Partulidae.

Many species of Partula are known under the general common names "Polynesian tree snail" and "Moorean viviparous tree snail". Partulids are distributed across 5,000 sq mi (13,000 km²) of Pacific Ocean islands, from the Society Islands to New Guinea.

Once used as decorative items in Polynesian ceremonial wear and jewelry, these small snails (averaging about one-half to three-quarters of an inch in length) gained the attention of science when Dr. Henry Crampton (along with Yoshio Kondo) spent 50 years studying and cataloging partulids, detailing their remarkable array of morphological elements, ecological niches, and behavioral aspects that illustrate adaptive radiation.