Latest news with #IngridGruner
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Rare Snail Captured on Camera for the First Time Laying an Egg Through Its Neck
A rare New Zealand snail had been captured on video for the first time laying an egg from its neck The Powelliphanta augusta snail was undergoing a routine weight check when the egg appeared The snail species lays roughly five eggs a year, which can take over a year to hatchWhat came first, the snail or the egg? New footage of a rare New Zealand snail laying an egg from its neck for the first time is now picking up steam online, and it's not happening at a snail's pace. The clip, shared by CBS News and The Guardian, shows a Powelliphanta augusta snail pushing a tiny egg from the neck of its body. Animal experts who witnessed the moment in person and New Zealand's Department of Conservation are calling the moment "quite remarkable." "In all the years we've been doing that [work], we've never encountered it," Ingrid Gruner, the regional biodiversity liaison of the department, told The Guardian. Gruner, per the outlet, helps manage a captivity program for the Powelliphanta augusta snails — otherwise known as the Mount Augustus snail — launched nearly 20 years ago. Experts with the program were weighing the egg-laying snail as part of a routine weight check when the creature started pushing the egg out of its neck. Gruner told The Guardian that the team "struck lucky" and captured the moment on camera. The snails lay roughly five eggs annually, which can take longer than a year to hatch, per a news release. Senior science advisor for New Zealand's conservation department, Kath Walker, noted in the release that snails have a genital pore on their necks to mate while remaining in their shells. According to The Guardian, other snails mate or lay eggs similarly, with some species even birthing live young. "It extends its penis out of this pore and into its mate's pore, and its mate does the same, simultaneously exchanging sperm, which they can store until they each fertilize the sperm they've received to create eggs," Walker said of the Powelliphanta augusta snail's procreation methods. "As hermaphrodites, they have both male and female genitalia, so although they usually mate with another to cross-fertilize their eggs, as carnivores which have to live at relatively low density, being able to occasionally self-fertilize must help with the survival of the species." Following a mining proposal in 2006 for the Mt Augustus ridge line on South Island — which The Guardian reports as the snail's sole native habitat — scientists have since been managing the critter's population. At the time, 2,000 snails were used to start a captive colony, while 4,000 were transferred to areas nearby. Faulty temperature controls of a department refrigerator led to roughly 800 of the snails dying in 2011. According to The Guardian, as of March, 1,884 snails (hatchlings to adults) and 2,195 eggs were in the captive breeding program. New colonies in the wild have since been established, and the department is monitoring them. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "It's remarkable that in all the time we've spent caring for the snails, this is the first time we've seen one lay an egg. We caught the action when we were weighing the snail. We turned it over to be weighed and saw the egg just starting to emerge from the snail," Lisa Flanagan, who has worked with the snails for over 12 years, said. "Some of our captive snails are between 25 and 30 years old," Flanagan added of the snails, which take eight years to reach sexual maturity. "They're polar opposites to the pest garden snail we introduced to New Zealand, which is like a weed, with thousands of offspring each year and a short life." Read the original article on People
The Guardian
08-05-2025
- Science
- The Guardian
Rare New Zealand snail filmed laying egg via its neck for first time
A large rare carnivorous New Zealand snail has been filmed laying an egg from its neck for the first time, in a delightfully icky stroke of luck. The department of conservation, which has been managing a captive population of Powelliphanta augusta , or the Mount Augustus snail, for almost two decades, was undertaking a routine weight check when a small, white egg started emerging from a snail's neck. The department's regional biodiversity liaison, Ingrid Gruner, who helped manage the captivity programme in its early days, told the Guardian the footage was 'quite remarkable'. Experience: I helped a snail find love 'In all the years we've being doing that [work], we've never encountered it.' The Powelliphanta land snails are among some of the largest in the world, roughly the size of a golf-ball, and found only in New Zealand. They are slow growing and can live for decades – some held in captivity are thought to be between 25 and 35 years old. They eat mostly slugs and earthworms, which they slurp up like spaghetti. Gruner said the team had 'struck lucky' capturing the moment. The snails sexually mature at 8 years old and lay roughly five eggs, shaped like a hen's, every year. They can take longer than a year to hatch. The Powelliphanta augusta, or Mount Augustus snail lays a hen-shaped egg. The population is threatened in the wild after a mining company began operations on their sole habitat. Photograph: Lucy Holyoake Lisa Flanagan, a ranger who has been looking after the snails for 12 years, said their behaviour was vastly different to that of introduced snail species. 'They're polar opposites to the pest garden snail we introduced to New Zealand which is like a weed, with thousands of offspring each year and a short life.' Kath Walker, the department's senior science adviser, said the hermaphrodite snails have developed a genital pore, or opening, on their neck so they can remain in their shell to mate and lay eggs. 'It extends its penis out of this pore and into its mate's pore, and its mate does the same, simultaneously exchanging sperm, which they can store until they each fertilise the sperm they've received to create eggs,' Walker says. Other snails mate and lay eggs in a similar fashion, though some, like Norfolk Island's Campbell's keeled glass-snail, have been observed birthing live young. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Clear Air Australia Adam Morton brings you incisive analysis about the politics and impact of the climate crisis Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion The department has been managing a population of the threatened snails in chilled containers since 2006, when mining company Solid Energy began mining in their sole habitat on the Mt Augustus ridge line, near Westport in the South Island. The mining proposal generated public uproar and court proceedings at the time, but was ultimately signed off by the government of the day. Roughly 4,000 snails were transferred to nearby sites and another 2,000 were used to start a captive colony in order to increase the limited genetic diversity of the species and as insurance against the possibility the transferred snails would not survive in their new habitat. In 2011, roughly 800 of the snails accidentally died in a department of conservation refrigerator with faulty temperature control. Very little was known about the snails before the department took them into captivity and the programme has likely saved the species from extinction, the department said. In March, there were 1,884 snails from hatchlings through to adults and 2,195 eggs in captivity, the department said. New colonies have been established in the wild but are being monitored to ensure they can form a sustainable population.
