painted snail

Unknown artist

It is an endemic species for Cuba. The color of the shell is extremely variable. Live on a few tree species: Chrysobalanus icaco, Metopium toxifera and Coccoloba retusa. It was much collected. It has been protected since 1943, when Cuban law prohibits the export of these snails, except for scientific purposes. The specimen is part of the collection of Aurelian Popescu-Gorj mollusks, a collection donated to the museum. Aurelian Popescu-Gorj was an entomologist specialist, head of department at the museum, for many years and made an important contribution to the development of the museum heritage, through exchanges with specialists from around the world.