Creature 297: Tornatellides boeningi

Bird's digestive tract. The only way to travel.

Tornatellides boeningi is a small terrestrial snail common on islands throughout the pacific ocean.

That may seem odd as a small terrestrial snail has no chance of migrating hundreds of kilometers between islands on its own. So how did they get to so many islands?

Tornatellides boeningi often get eaten by birds, but these guys somehow have an uncanny ability to shrug it off. That's right they are capable of surviving being eaten by birds. When they come out the other end they are often fine. This doesn't work all the time, but when it does they apparently suffer no ill effects. Presumably they are spread between islands by birds feeding on one island and then moving on.

Distribution:
Tornatellides boeningi can be found on various islands throughout the Pacific.

Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Heterobranchia
Family: Achatinellidae
Genus: Tornatellides
Species: Tornatellides boeningi

Image Links:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/07/110719-snails-birds-feces-animals-environment-weird/

http://www.themarysue.com/snail-poop-travel/