Latest news with #carnivoroussnail
BreakingNews.ie
09-05-2025
- Science
- BreakingNews.ie
Rare snail filmed for the first time laying an egg from its neck
Scientists have captured footage of the reproductive habits of a large, carnivorous snail from New Zealand for the first time, shedding light on a process once shrouded in mystery. Images show the snail laying an egg from its neck, the country's conservation agency said. Advertisement What looks like a tiny hen's egg is seen emerging from an opening below the head of the Powelliphanta augusta snail, a threatened species endemic to New Zealand. The video was taken at a facility on the South Island's West Coast, where conservation rangers attempting to save the species from extinction have cared for a population of the snails in chilled containers for nearly two decades. The conditions in the containers mimic the alpine weather in their only former habitat – a remote mountain they were named after, on the West Coast of the South Island, that has been engulfed by mining. Lisa Flanagan from New Zealand's department of conservation, who has worked with the creatures for 12 years, said the species still holds surprises. Advertisement '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,' she said in a statement. Like other snails, Powelliphanta augusta are hermaphrodites, which explains how the creatures can reproduce when encased in a hard shell. The invertebrate uses a genital pore on the right side of its body, just below the head, to simultaneously exchange sperm with another snail, which is stored until each creates an egg. Each snail takes eight years to reach sexual maturity, after which it lays about five eggs a year. The egg can take more than a year to hatch. Advertisement 'Some of our captive snails are between 25 and 30 years old,' said Ms Flanagan. '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.' The dozens of species and subspecies of Powelliphanta snails are only found in New Zealand, mostly in rugged forest and grassland settings where they are threatened by habitat loss. They are carnivores that slurp up earthworms like noodles, and are some of the world's largest snails, with oversized, distinctive shells in a range of rich earth colours and swirling patterns. The Powelliphanta augusta was the centre of public uproar and legal proceedings in the early 2000s, when an energy company's plans to mine for coal threatened to destroy the snails' habitat. Advertisement Some 4,000 were removed from the site and relocated, while 2,000 more were housed in chilled storage in the West Coast town of Hokitika to ensure the preservation of the species, which is slow to breed and does not adapt well to new habitats. In 2011, some 800 of the snails accidentally died in a department of conservation refrigerator with faulty temperature control. But the species' slow survival continues. In March this year, there were nearly 1,900 snails and nearly 2,200 eggs in captivity, the conservation agency said.
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.
