The Urgent Challenge of Protecting Polymita Snails in Cuba

According to a report published in the newspaper Granma by journalist Jorge Luis Merencio Cautín (featuring documentary photography by Leonel Escalona Furones and the author himself), a critical alert has been issued from Guantánamo: the polymita snails—considered by many to be the mollusks with the most beautiful shells in the universe and exclusive to the eastern region of the country—face a severe threat of extinction.

The ecological value of these terrestrial gastropods is invaluable. By feeding on fungi and lichens, they clean the leaves and stems of trees. In addition, they are an essential part of the diet of several local animals, notably the Gundlach's hawk / Cuban kite (gavilán caguarero), a bird endemic to the region that is also critically endangered.

Despite the importance of this species, its populations are in sharp decline. This reality has been thoroughly documented in the book Las Polimitas, authored by Dr. José Espinosa (Doctor of Biological Sciences and researcher at the Institute of Oceanology) and renowned photographer Julio Larramendi. Master of Science Norvis Hernández, lead specialist of the Baracoa sector at the Alejandro de Humboldt National Park, who has studied the behavior of these animals for 16 years, reached the exact same conclusions.

Multiple Factors Behind Their Disappearance

Experts agree that the crisis is primarily driven by the destruction of their natural habitat and excessive extraction for the illegal shell trade. Compounding these factors are the impact of invasive plant and animal species, harvesting during their reproductive season, and the consequences of climate change, which has led to reduced rainfall and higher temperatures.

Norvis Hernández warns that the most severe damage occurs outside the protected areas of Baracoa and Maisí, where the complete disappearance of several populations due to human activity has been documented.

The warning regarding this situation has deep historical roots. As early as 1943, Cuban mollusk expert Miguel Luis Jaume García (born in Havana, 1905–1990) demanded the legal protection of these animals. Yet, more than seventy years later, definitive measures to ensure their recovery have still not been implemented.

The Impunity of Illegal Trafficking

The smuggling of shells, driven by the profit motives of unscrupulous individuals, often takes place in plain sight. They are used to craft handicrafts such as necklaces, bracelets, earrings, chokers, living room lamps, curtains, and rattles, which are sold to tourists and locals alike, and even illegally exported abroad.

Master of Science Ricardo Suárez Bustamante, delegate of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (Citma) in Baracoa, recalls that about ten years ago, a Prevention Commission existed in the municipality dedicated to combating this illicit trade. However, the group was disbanded, and enforcement efforts faded away. Today, despite hotels and tourist facilities displaying messages regarding the threat of extinction, trafficking continues to blatantly violate the law.

Extraction particularly impacts the species Polymita picta and is concentrated in key smuggling hubs such as Sabana, La Máquina, and La Tinta (in the municipality of Maisí); Yumurí, Manglito Beach, and the First City of Cuba (in Baracoa), along with the heights of La Farola (in Imías).

The level of impunity is such that, as pointed out by the newspaper Granma, over the past two years only three fines had been issued in Baracoa: one by a Citma inspector and two by the Forest Ranger Corps. As researcher José Espinosa highlights, there is a paralyzing inaction on the part of the entities tasked with protecting wildlife.

Biology and a Call to Action

To date, naturalists identify six species belonging to this hermaphroditic and pulmonate genus (possessing an air sac for breathing and reproductive organs of both sexes): P. venusta, P. picta, P. muscarum, P. sulphurosa, P. versicolor, and P. brocheri. According to Norvis Hernández, the species facing the most critical threat in the country are P. sulphurosa, P. venusta, P. versicolor, and P. picta. All of them are arboreal in habit and prefer living on coffee shrubs.

To save this invaluable natural treasure from the face of the Earth, experts emphasize that the integration of all sectors, the tightening of environmental laws, and the enforcement of exemplary penalties against poachers and illegal traders are imperative.