Scientists have captured the reproductive habits of a large carnivorous snail from New Zealand on video for the first time, shedding light on a process once shrouded in mystery.
The images show the snail laying an egg from its neck, according to the country's Nature Conservation Agency.
What looks like a small chicken egg hatches from a hole under the head of the Powelliphanta augusta snail, an endangered species endemic to New Zealand.
The video was filmed at a site on the west coast of the South Island where conservationists have been caring for a population of snails in refrigerated containers for almost two decades in an attempt to save the species from extinction.
The conditions in the containers mimic the alpine weather of their only previous habitat, the remote mountain on the west coast of the South Island for which they were named, which has been impacted by mining.
Lisa Flanagan, from the New Zealand Department of Conservation, who has been working with the creatures for 12 years, said the species still holds surprises.
“Remarkably, in all the time we've spent caring for the snails, this is the first time we've seen one of them lay an egg,” she said in a statement.
Like other snails, Powelliphanta augusta are hermaphrodites, which explains how these creatures can reproduce while enclosed in a hard shell.
The invertebrate uses the genital opening on the right side of its body, just below the head, to simultaneously exchange sperm with another snail, which is stored until each has produced an egg.
Each snail takes eight years to reach sexual maturity, after which it lays about five eggs a year. An egg can take more than a year to hatch.
“Some of our captive snails are 25 to 30 years old,” Ms Flanagan said. “They are the complete opposite of the pest garden snail we introduced to New Zealand, which is like a weed, with thousands of offspring each year and a short lifespan.”
Dozens of species and subspecies of Powelliphanta snails are found only in New Zealand, mostly in remote forests and grasslands where they are threatened by habitat loss.
They are carnivores that eat earthworms like noodles and are among the largest snails in the world, with huge, distinctive shells that come in a variety of rich earthy colours and swirls.
Powelliphanta augusta found itself at the center of public outrage and litigation in the early 2000s when an energy company's coal mining plans threatened to destroy the snails' habitat.
About 4,000 individuals were removed from the landing site and relocated, while another 2,000 were placed in cold storage facilities in the west coast town of Hokitika to ensure the survival of the species, which reproduces slowly and adapts poorly to new habitats.
In 2011, about 800 snails accidentally died in a refrigerator in the canning department due to faulty temperature control.
But the species' slow survival continues. In March this year, there were about 1,900 snails and about 2,200 eggs in captivity, the conservation agency said.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
