Boucardicus fortistriatus is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of land snail

Snail

Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...

 with an operculum

Operculum (gastropod)

The operculum, meaning little lid, is a corneous or calcareous anatomical structure which exists in many groups of sea snails and freshwater snails, and also in a few groups of land snails...

, a terrestrial

Terrestrial animal

Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...

 gastropod mollusk in the family Cyclophoridae

Cyclophoridae

Cyclophoridae is a taxonomic family of small to large tropical land snails with an operculum, terrestrial gastropod mollusks in the informal group Architaenioglossa belonging to the clade Caenogastropoda .- Taxonomy :This family consists of the following subfamilies according to the taxonomy of...

.

This species is endemic to Madagascar

Madagascar

The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...

 where its natural habitat

Habitat

* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...

 is subtropical or tropical dry forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

s. It lives in the Toliara Province

Toliara Province

Toliara is a former province of Madagascar with an area of 161,405 km². It had a population of 2,229,550 . Its capital was Toliara...

 of Madagascar, and is found only above 860 m ASL on Mount Vasiha.

Conservation Status

B. fortistriatus was assessed as critically endangered in 2000. The status was assessed by K. C. Emberton, one of the species' authorities, and evaluated by M. B. Seddon of the Mollusc Red List Authority. The species was found to meet three of the 'critically endangered' species criteria - B1, that the existing population is "severely fragmented or known to exist at only a single location", and B2cd, that a continuing decline is projected in the species' "area, extent and/or quality of habitat" and "number of locations or subpopulations". B. fortistriatus is furthermore estimated to occupy less than 10 km². This species' habitat within Madagascar is being destroyed by slash and burn agriculture, according to the IUCN.