In a short, interesting piece at NPR John Nielsen brings news of the demise of a small, island snail. Declared extinct August, 2007, after not being seen since 1997, the Aldabra banded snail, likely couldn’t survive the longer, hotter summers of recent decades.
Gerlach says he found the proof he needed in shells gathered up by collectors. Smaller shells, once common, disappeared with the frequent long, hot summers. He suspects — but cannot prove — that these bad summers are a side effect of global warming. If he’s right, then this snail has earned itself a grim distinction: It would be the first species in the modern era to become extinct as a direct result of climate change.
It probably won’t be last, says biologist Diane Debinski of Iowa State University.