POLYMITA: World's Most Beautiful Land Snail (Baracoa, Cuba)

THE POLYMITAS ARE IN DANGER OF EXTINCTION!!!
Considered by many experts as the most beautiful land snail in the planet, the Queen of the Land Snails seems ready to step out for carnival. its exclusive quality lies in its unique polychrome shells. The very name of these snails describes this special and distinctive feature: the word polymita is formed from two Greek roots—"poly" which means many and "mitos" which means thread or stripes.

The beautiful perfect lines come in many colours, except blue. Legend has it that a beautiful Indian girl was loved by an Indian cacique or chief and in order to win her love and not having pearls or diamonds to give her, he set out one day to capture the yellow of the sun, the green of the meadows, the brown of the mountains, the pink of flowers, the white of the foam at the crest of the waves...but night caught him unawares and he was not able to capture the blue of the sky, being satisfied with securing the black of night. This is why there are no shades of blue in polymitas. Some scholars suggest that this snail used to dwell all along the island, but physical changes in the earth plus the unscrupulous collection for commercial purposes have annihilated important colonies in the last two centuries, and now they are found exclusively in pockets of the easternmost part of Cuba, in the area of Baracoa, Maisi, Guantanamo and Santiago de Cuba

Polymita species exhibit shades of red, purple, lilac, pink, yellow, orange, brown, green, white, black, gold, ochre and terra-cotta, among others. Their perfect spirals are reminiscent of nature's most mysterious phenomena—the rainbow, sea waves, tornadoes, clouds...

They live on trees and bushes in mangrove areas, scrublands and forests having successfully adapted to agricultural ecosystems like coffee plantations. They prefer humid environments which ensure the fungi they feed on, although some have developed in drier habitats surviving high temperatures.. Unlike most snails, Polymitas do not harm their host trees. They do not eat their leaves or bark but instead feed on the fungi, sooty molds and lichens that grow on them thus keeping the trees clean and healthy. They are welcome guests in the Coffee and Guava orchards of the region not only for their beauty but also because they are highly beneficial.

This exquisite land snail has a variety of natural predators like the hook-billed kike and rats, but none is more threatening than man. Their flawless beauty regrettably has made them a prime target for indiscriminate collectors, who, by plucking the snails from the trees, (and destroying their habitat,) decimate their population. Whole populations have disappeared and
THEY ARE IN DANGER OF EXTINCITON.

Photos: Thanks to the courtesy of ADRIAN GONZALEZ GUILLEN (Cuba the Landshells Paradise) for the wonderful pictures of the Polymitas in their natural habitat. Other photos taken from sites internet sites like Facebook (Baracoa Cuba, Weyler Borgas, Abel Bergada Cobos) and elrincondelmalacologo.

Music: Gonzalo Roig "El Cocuye"