(BIVN) – The year 2019 begins with some sad news for Hawaiian biodiversity, as a certain species of land snail appears to have gone extinct.

The last known Achatinella apexfulva in the Hawaiian Islands, “George,” died on New Year’s Day. According to the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources, George was approximately 14 years old, and was reared in a laboratory at the University of Hawaiʻi.

The DLNR wrote that the death of George is “a significant loss to locals as he was featured in numerous articles and hundreds of school children have viewed him over the years.” The remaining land snails in Hawaii face imminent extinction threats from invasive species and climate change, the state says.

This obituary for George, a snail and a species, was written by David Sischo-Snail Extinction Prevention Program Coordinator: