11/04/2025
A Rare Find in Sandakan: Green Tree Snail
Spotted this beautiful green-shelled land snail while exploring the rainforest in Sandakan, Sabah. At first, I thought it resembled a marine cone snail, but after some digging (and with help from online resources), it appears to be a green-shelled morph of an Amphidromus species — a genus of tree-dwelling land snails native to Southeast Asia.
Interestingly, similar green-shelled snails were recorded as early as the 1850s in Singapore, often referred to as the “Green Tree Snail” or Amphidromus inversus. The one I found may represent a local variation unique to Borneo, or even an undescribed morph.
Found after rain, clinging to a railing in lowland forest — a reminder of how much natural beauty still surprises us, even on familiar trails.