Pair of ‘rare’ creatures found in Canada with the help of internet users, officials say
A biologist’s random sighting and helpful internet users led to the discovery of a new population of “rare” creatures in Canada. Photos show the endangered animal.
Scott Gillingwater, a biologist with the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, was doing a salamander survey at a nature preserve in Ontario in April 2023 when “an interesting looking snail” caught his attention, he told the Canadian outlet CTV News London.
He snapped a photo of the small tannish-brown snail then posted it on iNaturalist, a platform for wildlife observations, and moved on, the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority said in a May 21 news release.
But another iNaturalist user saw Gillingwater’s snail photo and suggested a correction. The internet user advised the animal was actually a shagreen snail, an endangered species of land snail, wildlife officials said. Canadian snail experts agreed.
Shagreen snails, scientifically known as Inflectarius inflectus, are a “rare” species whose population has dwindled due to habitat loss, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
Photos show a shagreen snail as seen from above and below.
Gillingwater found a second shagreen snail at the same site in Woodstock, Ontario, this past April, wildlife officials said.
“We’ve only found two (snails) so far,” Gillingwater told the London Free Press, a Canadian news outlet. “But because it is such a rare species, that’s very, very heartening and positive.”
The pair of shagreen snail sightings “suggests that Snake Woods Nature Preserve could be home to the last remaining mainland population in Canada,” officials said.
“This is why iNaturalist is so important to scientists,” Gillingwater said in the release. “Without access to international experts, this find may have fallen through the cracks.”
Gillingwater told the London Free Press that he wants to do further surveys to search for more shagreen snails and take other measures to help protect the species.
Woodstock is in Ontario, a roughly 90-mile drive southwest from Toronto and near the border with the United States.
This story was originally published May 23, 2024 at 9:08 AM with the headline "Pair of ‘rare’ creatures found in Canada with the help of internet users, officials say."
