THE late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin was known for his fast reflexes and quick Aussie wit but now one of the world's slowest moving creatures, a tree snail, has been named in his honour.

Queensland Museum scientist John Stanisic has named a rare species of tree snail, crikey steveirwini.

The snail was found in the mountainous regions of the wet tropics near Cairns.

"This is an extremely rare species of snail," Dr Stanisic said. "So far it has only been found in three locations, all on the summits of high mountains in Far North Queensland and at altitudes above 1000m, which is quite unusual for Australian land snails.

"These mountainous habitats will be among the first to feel the effects of climate change, and Steve Irwin’s tree snail could become a focal species for monitoring this change."

The scientist described crikey steveirwini as "a colourful snail, with swirling bands of creamy yellow, orange-brown and chocolate giving the shell an overall khaki appearance".

"It was the khaki colour that immediately drew the connection to the late Crocodile Hunter," Dr Stanisic said.

Terri Irwin said her husband would have been delighted to have a new species bear his name and signature catch-cry. "Steve worked tirelessly to promote conservation, wildlife and the environment and his work enabled the plight of endangered species to reach a whole new audience," Ms Irwin said.

"Steve also had a long history of collaborating with staff at the Queensland Museum and I’m sure he would be pleased."

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