United States
£ GBP
Language: English
If Cuba is the paradise for land shells, Polymita must be Adam and Eve's Apple. This genus, which Lovell A. Reeve called "perhaps the most varicoloured of all the land snails", has such beautiful species that it seduces the human mind. Both for good (well-illustrated and emblematic for the Cuban malacofauna) and for worse (because of its beauty it's species are being over-collected and used as souvenirs). Adrián González has traced the history of Polymita through time, documented its natural environment through splendid photographs, and provides in Polymita: The Most Beautiful Land Snail of the World a thorough treatment of the six different species. Finally he presents an overview of the threats by human activities that have plagued these species and eventually may drive them into extinction. But he also clearly points out the way conservation activities should follow to save these gems of Cuban biodiversity.
