George the tree snail ( Achatinella apexfulva ) died on January 1, 2019, at the age of 14. He was the last snail of his species, and is emblematic of the loss of native Hawaiian mollusks.
George was born in a captive breeding facility at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa in the early 2000s, and soon after, the rest of his kin died. That’s when he got his name—after
Lonesome George, the Pinta Island tortoise who was also the last of his kind.
For over a decade, researchers searched in vain for another member of the species for George to mate with, to no avail. (Though these snails are hermaphrodites, two adults must mate to produce offspring, and researchers refer to George as a “he.”)
“I’m sad, but really, I’m more angry because this was such a special species, and so few people knew about it,” says Rebecca Rundell, an evolutionary biologist with State University of New York who used to help care for George and his kin.
Throughout his life, George was a public face for the struggles facing Hawaiian land snails. His death highlights both the vast diversity of indigenous snails—and their desperate plight.
“I know it’s just a snail, but it represents a lot more,” says David Sischo, a wildlife biologist with the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources and coordinator of the Snail Extinction Prevention Program.


https://relay.nationalgeographic.com/proxy/distribution/public/amp/animals/2019/01/george-the-lonely-snail-dies-in-hawaii-extinction?__twitter_impression=true

Why did 'he'not impregnate herself! Endtime George!

rip

Not even a picture and how sure are they that that was the last surviving one?

No pictures? U must be kidneying..

The last tree snail that they know has died

pics pls