Tote Bag | Nā Pūpū Kuahiwi

The Bishop Museum has one of the most comprehensive collection of Pacific island land snails in the world and includes representatives of many extinct, endangered, and threatened species and more than 300 undescribed species.. The approximately 25,000 islands of the Pacific Ocean harbor more than 6,000 land snail species, most of which are only found on a single island or archipelago. Unfortunately, molluscs, particularly Pacific island land snails like the ones in Hawaii, have the highest recorded extinction rate of any major animal taxonomic group, making the Museum’s collection all the more important in the conservation of this group. The Bishop Museum Malacology Department has been central in the conservation of Hawaiian land snails, conducting essential biodiversity research and maintaining a captive rearing program for species threatened with imminent extinction.