|
The king of Cuban snails
BY LUCIA ARBOLAEZ
—Special for Granma International—
A
considerable number of terrestrial mollusks exist in
Cuba; the most well-known include those
distinguished by their extraordinary beauty such as
the Vianas, endemic to the western region of the
island, with colorful shells in yellow, burgundy and
white.
There are also the so-called Liguus snails, which
have a conical shape and are white or yellow, with
or without stripes, and can be found throughout the
country and in some of the larger cays.
But
there is one, considered to be the “king” of the
Cuban snails: the species named Polimita picta,
a Greek word which means “many threads,” referring
to the color and characteristics of these snails.
Because of the extraordinary variations and
combinations of colors they possess, experts confirm
that there are no other mollusks on the earth, or in
the seas or rivers that can rival these. They claim
that no two Polymitas are alike and that there are a
significant number of sub-varieties.
Polymitas were described for the first time between
1780 and 1849 and can be found throughout the
eastern part of Cuba: in the provinces of Las Tunas,
Granma, Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo. They come
in a variety of shades from intense yellow through
to orange, bright green, black and brownish-gray. On
top of those colors are stripes which can be thick
or thin, single or multiple, and of one or a variety
of colors.
The
Polymitas found in the high plains of Maisí are
mainly orange; those found close to the rivers Toa
and Duaba are, in the main, the color of red wine.
Whilst in the Baracoa region, black Polymitas with
white and red stripes can be found and in Cabo Cruz
they are yellow and orange.
Like
the Vianas and Liguus, the Polymitas are difficult
to see during daylight hours because they are
nocturnal creatures. They feed on the fungi and
lichens that grow on the trunks and leaves of trees,
thus providing a beneficial function for the plants.
It
is also know that they look for partners and mate at
night and during rainy periods.
During reproduction the snails inseminate each other
(they are hermaphrodites) and come down from the
trees several weeks later to deposit around 20 tiny
eggs in the earth.
Research undertaken by specialists over the last few
years concludes that throughout the country there
are more than 2,000 species of terrestrial mollusks
and this figure relates to just 25% of the territory
that has been explored.
This
same research shows that some 95% of these mollusks
are endemic, due to the island’s insular nature, and
their components reflect the traces of thousands of
years of isolation.
Thus there are reasons for calling Cuba a “paradise
of mollusks.”
|
