Latest news with #mollusc
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
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
World-first video shows rare captive snail performing 'remarkable' act
Thousands of snails were collected then monitored at a secure facility to try and prevent its extinction. This is the first time a Powelliphanta augusta snail has been filmed laying an egg. Source: DOC In a world-first, a unique species of land snail has been filmed laying what resembles a tiny 'hen's egg' from its neck. Little is known about the strange species of New Zealand mollusc, and so the video has caused excitement around the facility where it lives. Because Powelliphanta augusta snails are protected by a hard shell, their reproductive pores, which double as an egg-laying vent, developed on their soft, accessible necks. Department of Conservation (DOC) senior science advisor Kath Walker explained the snail only needs to 'peek out of its shell to do the business'. '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. 'As hermaphrodites, they have both male and female genitalia, so although they usually mate with another to cross-fertilise their eggs, as carnivores which have to live at relatively low density, being able to occasionally self-fertilise must help with survival of the species.' Related: 'Surprising' insight reveals snail's favourite colour and most hated food Why are snails being held in captivity? The 20-second video shows the snail at a captive facility at Hokitika on the South Island, which is dedicated to the snail's protection. DOC has 1,884 snails and 2,195 eggs at the captive facility and ranger Lisa Flanagan said it was 'remarkable' no one had witnessed a snail excreting an egg before. The facility became necessary after mining company Solid Energy was permitted to destroy the snail's habitat across the Mount Augustus ridgeline on the western side of the South Island's Stockton Plateau. Before the mining began in 2006, DOC workers collected 4,000 snails and relocated them to new sites. Monitoring of their ability to adapt is still ongoing. To safeguard the species from extinction, DOC took 2,000 snails into captivity. Until 2016, the breeding program was funded by Solid Energy, which was a condition of its permit. Today, the work is funded by the government, using compensation from the miner. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
