Latest news with #MountAugustusSnail
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Watch world-1st footage of a giant snail oozing a pearly white egg out of its slimy neck folds
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. In a world first, scientists have filmed a rare carnivorous snail laying an egg from a "genital pore" in its neck. The footage answers long-standing questions about how the mysterious mollusks — known as the Mount Augustus snail (Powelliphanta augusta) — reproduce. "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," Lisa Flanagan, a New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) ranger who captured the footage, said in a statement. "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." In the video, a single pearly white egg oozes out of the snail's slimy neck folds, from an opening known as a genital pore. There are at least 20 species and 59 sub-species of Powelliphanta snails, and they are among the largest snails in the world, according to the DOC. Powelliphanta snails are nocturnal and rarely come out during the day, except when it is particularly rainy. Therefore, they are not often very rarely spotted by humans. They are also among New Zealand's most threatened invertebrate species due to predation and habitat loss. According to the DOC , P. augusta, only found on the Buller Plateau on New Zealand's West Coast, are threatened by extinction due to open-cast coal mining in their native range. Because of their shrinking population and nocturnal behavior, very little is known about these creatures' life cycle and behavior. Therefore, wildlife officials have been studying a population in captivity for nearly 20 years. "DOC has been managing this captive population in chilled containers in Hokitika since 2006, when work began to mine the majority of their habitat on the West Coast of the South Island," the DOC representatives said in a Facebook post. "Very little was known about the species before they were taken into captivity." Like many snails, Powelliphanta are hermaphrodites, meaning they have both male and female reproductive organs. P. augusta are long-lived and slow to mature, only reaching sexual maturity at around 8 years old — which is very old for a snail. Mature snails usually lay around five eggs a year, which can take more than a year to hatch. "Some of our captive snails are between 25 and 30 years old — in this 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, DOC senior science advisor, said in the statement. While the snails' hard shells help to protect them from predation and harsh conditions, they also make it difficult to get sperm from one snail into another. "Powelliphanta have solved this by having an opening (a genital pore) on the right side of their body just below their head so that the snail only needs to peek out of its shell to do the business," Walker said. "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 said. She added that, because they have both male and female reproductive organs, the snails can also self-fertilize. RELATED STORIES —The brain-hijacking parasite that creates disco zombie snails —9 surprising facts about David Attenborough on his 99th birthday —8 animals that have virgin births Laying eggs through a genital pore is common among snail species, although some species, such as Littorina saxatilis in the U.K., give birth to live young. But Powelliphanta species are unusual because they only lay one egg at a time, rather than the big eggy clusters produced by many other more common snail species, according to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. To save these exotic snails, the DOC has established new populations in the wild by introducing them into new and rehabilitated habitats. However, they will continue to manage populations in captivity too until they are confident that the species is surviving well in the wild. "The captive management of Powelliphanta augusta has not only saved the species from extinction, but it's allowed us to learn more about the lives of these incredible creatures found nowhere else in the world," according to the statement.
Malay Mail
08-05-2025
- Science
- Malay Mail
Snail secrets revealed as rare New Zealand species caught laying egg from its head
Scientists have filmed a Mount Augustus snail laying an egg from its neck for the first time, offering rare insight into its reproduction. Fewer than 2,000 of the critically endangered meat-eating snails survive in captivity, following setbacks including a mass freezing in 2011. Conservationists hope the footage and continued care will support efforts to save the species and boost its population in the wild. SYDNEY, May 9 — A rare New Zealand snail has been filmed for the first time squeezing an egg from its neck, delighting scientists trying to save the critically endangered meat-eating mollusc. Threatened by coal mining in New Zealand's South Island, a small population of the Mount Augustus snail was transplanted from its forest habitat almost 20 years ago to live in chilled containers tended by humans. Little is known about the reproduction of the shellbound creatures, which can grow so large that New Zealand's conservation department calls them 'giants of the snail world'. A conservation ranger said she was gobsmacked to witness a captive snail laying an egg from its neck — a reproductive act well documented in other land snails but never filmed for this species. '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,' conservation ranger Lisa Flanagan said this week. '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.' A handout picture shows an egg laid by a Mount Augustus snail through its neck in Hokitika, New Zealand.— AFP pic Conservation department scientist Kath Walker said hard shells made it difficult to mate — so some snails instead evolved a special 'genital pore' under their head. The Mount Augustus snail 'only needs to peek out of its shell to do the business,' she said. The long-lived snails can grow to the size of a golf ball and their eggs can take more than a year to hatch. They eat earthworms, according to New Zealand's conservation department, which they slurp up 'like we eat spaghetti'. Conservation efforts suffered a drastic setback in 2011, when a faulty temperature gauge froze 800 Mount Augustus snails to death inside their climate-controlled containers. Fewer than 2,000 snails currently live in captivity, while small populations have been re-established in the New Zealand wild. — AFP
Asharq Al-Awsat
08-05-2025
- Science
- Asharq Al-Awsat
What the Shell: Scientists Marvel as NZ Snail Lays Egg from Neck
A rare New Zealand snail has been filmed for the first time squeezing an egg from its neck, delighting scientists trying to save the critically endangered meat-eating mollusk. Threatened by coal mining in New Zealand's South Island, a small population of the Mount Augustus snail was transplanted from its forest habitat almost 20 years ago to live in chilled containers tended by humans. Little is known about the reproduction of the shellbound critters, which can grow so large that New Zealand's conservation department calls them "giants of the snail world". A conservation ranger said she was gobsmacked to witness a captive snail laying an egg from its neck -- a reproductive act well documented in other land snails but never filmed for this species. "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," conservation ranger Lisa Flanagan said this week. "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." Conservation department scientist Kath Walker said hard shells made it difficult to mate -- so some snails instead evolved a special "genital pore" under their head. The Mount Augustus snail "only needs to peek out of its shell to do the business," she said. The long-lived snails can grow to the size of a golf ball and their eggs can take more than a year to hatch. They eat earthworms, according to New Zealand's conservation department, which they slurp up "like we eat spaghetti". Conservation efforts suffered a drastic setback in 2011, when a faulty temperature gauge froze 800 Mount Augustus snails to death inside their climate-controlled containers. Fewer than 2,000 snails currently live in captivity, while small populations have been re-established in the New Zealand wild.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
What the shell: scientists marvel as NZ snail lays egg from neck
A rare New Zealand snail has been filmed for the first time squeezing an egg from its neck, delighting scientists trying to save the critically endangered meat-eating mollusc. Threatened by coal mining in New Zealand's South Island, a small population of the Mount Augustus snail was transplanted from its forest habitat almost 20 years ago to live in chilled containers tended by humans. Little is known about the reproduction of the shellbound critters, which can grow so large that New Zealand's conservation department calls them "giants of the snail world". A conservation ranger said she was gobsmacked to witness a captive snail laying an egg from its neck -- a reproductive act well documented in other land snails but never filmed for this species. "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," conservation ranger Lisa Flanagan said this week. "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." Conservation department scientist Kath Walker said hard shells made it difficult to mate -- so some snails instead evolved a special "genital pore" under their head. The Mount Augustus snail "only needs to peek out of its shell to do the business," she said. The long-lived snails can grow to the size of a golf ball and their eggs can take more than a year to hatch. They eat earthworms, according to New Zealand's conservation department, which they slurp up "like we eat spaghetti". Conservation efforts suffered a drastic setback in 2011, when a faulty temperature gauge froze 800 Mount Augustus snails to death inside their climate-controlled containers. Fewer than 2,000 snails currently live in captivity, while small populations have been re-established in the New Zealand wild. sft/djw/dhw
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.
