Achatinella bulimoides is a rare species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Achatinellidae.
Subspecies Achatinella bulimoides albalabia Welch, 1954 Achatinella bulimoides arnemani Welch, 1958 Achatinella bulimoides bulimoides Swainson, 1828 Achatinella bulimoides caesiapicta Welch, 1954 Achatinella bulimoides circulospadix Welch, 1954 Achatinella bulimoides elegans Newcomb, 1854 Achatinella bulimoides fricki L. Pfeiffer, 1855 Achatinella bulimoides fulvula Welch, 1954 Achatinella bulimoides glabra Newcomb, 1854 Achatinella bulimoides kaipapauensis Welch, 1958 Achatinella bulimoides kalekukei Welch, 1954 Achatinella bulimoides mistura Pilsbry & C. M. Cooke, 1913 Achatinella bulimoides obliqua Gulick, 1858 Achatinella bulimoides oswaldi Welch, 1958 Achatinella bulimoides ovata Newcomb, 1853 Achatinella bulimoides papakokoensis Welch, 1958 Achatinella bulimoides rosea Swainson, 1828 Achatinella bulimoides rosealimbata Welch, 1954 Achatinella bulimoides rotunda Gulick, 1858 Achatinella bulimoides rufapicta Welch, 1958 Achatinella bulimoides spadicea Gulick, 1858 Achatinella bulimoides vidua L. Pfeiffer, 1855 Achatinella bulimoides wheatleyana Pilsbry & C. M. Cooke, 1913
Distribution This species is endemic to Oahu, Hawaii. It is now extinct in the wild.
Conservation status All members of the genus Achatinella are extremely rare in the wild. Achatinella bulimoides is a special case, as it is so rare it is now believed to be extinct in the wild. The last known wild specimens were removed from the wild in 2019.
As of 2024, there are 290 specimens in the captive breeding program.
Shell description The dextral or sinistral shell is ovate-oblong and subventricose. The shell has whorls. The shell is similar in form to Achatinella livida, but the spire is less thickened and more pointed at the apex. The color is whitish with chestnut bands, and the apex is pale brown. The ground-color, in some specimens, is pale chestnut or ferruginous, banded with darker shades. Other specimens are pure white. The aperture is white. The suture is scarcely if at all margined by a groove.
The height of the shell is . The width of the shell is .
Achatinella rosea Achatinella rosea Swainson, 1828 is a subspecies of Achatinella bulimoides. Its sinistral shell is a pale, rose color, with two obsolete white bands. The shell has whorls. The margin of the lip and columella are of a deeper rose-color, and the aperture white. It should be observed that the subsutural groove is very distinct. The height of the shell is . The width of the shell is .
References This article incorporates public domain text (a public domain work of the United States Government) from reference.U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (1992) Recovery Plan for the Oahu Tree Snails of the Genus Achatinella. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, Oregon, 64 pp. + 64 pp. of appendices + 5 figures. PDF
Cowie, R. H., Evenhuis, N. L. & Christensen, C. C. (1995). Catalog of the native land and freshwater molluscs of the Hawaiian Islands. vi + 248 pp. Leiden: Backhuys Publishers.