Bangam | Mitchell’s rainforest snail
Scientific name: Thersites mitchellae
Common names: Mitchell’s rainforest snail
Status: Endangered in NSW; Critically Endangered in Commonwealth
Bangam - Rainforest Snail factsheet(PDF, 66KB)
Land snail rainforest species are particularly diverse and an important part of the food chain, representing a significant proportion of overall biodiversity in a given area. They are a very good indicator species, telling us about the condition of ecosystems and when changes occur. Certain Bangam (rainforest snail) species were an important food source for local Aboriginal people.
The Mitchell’s rainforest snail is generally found in remnant lowland subtropical rainforest and swamp forest on the coastal plain between the Richmond and Tweed Rivers. It has also been recorded in lowland subtropical rainforest at higher elevations in the hinterland. Active at night, they feed on leaf litter, fungi and lichen.
Due to extensive land clearance, Mitchell’s rainforest snail is now restricted to small remnant areas of habitat. Stotts Island Nature Reserve, in the Tweed River near Murwillumbah, provides the largest single area of remaining habitat and largest known population of the species.
Little is known about the threats to this species, although its habitat is under pressure from agriculture, urban development, fire, weed invasion and for much of its preferred floodplain habitat, climate change induced sea level rise. Additionally, the species may also be threatened by predation by introduced rats and the use of herbicides and pesticides near their habitat. Mitchell’s rainforest snail is also preyed upon by the colourful native noisy pitta bird, Pitta versicolour, which cracks the shells on rock or other hard surface, using it like an anvil.