A species of snail once thought to be extinct is making a creepingly slow recovery at an Australian breeding facility, but there are hopes it could soon be released back into the wild.
Scientists are overjoyed that breeding efforts are finally starting to pay off for Campbell's keeled glass-snails, which were listed as extinct until a citizen scientist on Norfolk Island, off the east coast of Australia, spotted a snail he didn't recognize in 2020.
Isabel Hyman of the Australian Museum in Sydney obtained images taken by Mark Scott of his discovery and identified the creature as a Campbell's keeled glass-snail.
"Mark had seen these snails — quite big — that he didn't recognise," Hyman told the Guardian. "I'd been [to Norfolk Island] years before. I thought they were gone."
A team then traveled to the island and gathered 40 of the snails to bring back to a breeding facility at Taronga Zoo Sydney.
Success came slowly, as all the snails died within the first six months. But a change in their living environment and diet brought results, and now there are 300 snails, which may soon be released on Norfolk Island.
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"We've learned a lot about them, but we didn't think we could go that extra step," Hyman said. "It's so exciting that we've got the capacity to do [a release] now. They're hanging on by the skin of their teeth … and they do have teeth."
The snail's prospects were impacted by the arrival of rats as well as other feral animals on the island. Land loss also made it difficult for the angular-shelled snails to thrive. A trial release will be conducted first to see if conditions are suitable for the snails to survive.
Though these snails are around the size of a thumbnail, the impact of mollusks on ecosystems should not be discounted.
In addition to recycling nutrients and helping in the distribution of fungi spores and other organisms, as Backyard Ecology detailed, they are also an important food source for other animals.
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Whether the animals are great or small, restoration can play an important role in ecosystem balance and biodiversity. For example, the reintroduction of wild buffalo in Montana has encouraged the growth of grass and native plant species, while their hoof impressions have provided nesting areas for birds. Even two mammals, the endangered black-footed ferret and swift fox, have returned to historically native lands after the bison's reintroduction.
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