PERSONNEL AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

From left to right: Robert H. Cowie, Rebecca J. Rundell (front), Falaniko Mika (back), and Pasia Setu; on the summit of Olosega, February 2001.
The Project is led by Dr. Robert H. Cowie, formerly of the Bishop Museum (Honolulu). Dr. Cowie is now at the Center for Conservation Research and Training at the University of Hawaii.

A number of University of Hawaii graduate students have participated in the project at the Bishop Museum: Paul Armstrong, David Britton, Richard Pyle and Rebecca Rundell.

This website and the associated Searchable Database and online Identification Guide were developed by Richard Pyle.

From left to right: Robert H. Cowie, Rebecca J. Rundell, Pasia Setu, Fred Brooks, and Falaniko Mika; at the Ofu Airport.
The majority of photographs of shells on this website were taken by Rebecca Rundell, with additional photographs taken by Tom Burch, Robert Cowie, David Preston, and Tony Robinson.

From left to right: Don Vargo, Falaniko Mika, Rebecca J. Rundell, Pasia Setu and Robert H. Cowie; members of the Olosega Snail Hunt.
In American Samoa, numerous people have assisted with field work, hospitality, and general logistics, notably Bob Cook (National Park of American Samoa) and Don Vargo (American Samoa Community College), but also Chris Stein (formerly Superintendent, National Park of American Samoa), and Peter Craig (also National Park of American Samoa). In the field especially, Mino Fialua (National Park of American Samoa), Falaniko Mika, and Pasia Setu (both American Samoa Community College) have been crucial to the success of the project. In addition many other people have particpated in field work: Reynold Belford, Fred Brooks, Virginia Cowie, Anthony Crook, Ben Eiben, Siaifoi Faaumu, Ioane Ioane, Vai Misaalefua, Heidi Sherman, Nonu TiaSamoa, Orlo Colin Steele, Don Vargo, Rory West, and Rory West, Jr.

Assistance with identification of specimens has been provided by Fred Naggs, David Robinson, and José Willibaldo Thomé. Loan of type material and other specimens used to assist with identifications has been facilitated by Bob Hershler, Cheryl Bright, and Paul Greenhall (National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian Institution), Washington), Philippe Bouchet and Virginie Héros (Muséum Nationale d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris), Trudi Meier (Zoologisches Museum der Universität Zürich), and Edmund Jarzembowsky (Maidstone Museum). John Slapcinsky assisted with information from the collections in the Field Museum, Chicago.

From left to right: Pasia Setu, Fred Brooks, Robert H. Cowie, Rebecca J. Rundell, and Falaniko Mika; on the beach.
Many people have offered their support of the project, in particlar Ray Tulafono (Director, American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources).

The Samoan Snail Project is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DEB 9705494. Additional funding has come from the U.S. Department of the Interior National Parks Service, the U.S. Geological Survey Biological Resources Division, and the Bishop Museum. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recomendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation (NSF) or any other funding source.