New Zealand launches campaign to find love for rare and lonely left-spiralling snail Ned
Nearly all common garden snails have shells that coil to the right but Ned the snail’s left-spiralling shell results in reversed reproductive organs – a barrier to mating
If you thought your dating pool was limited, spare a thought for Ned, a very rare snail unearthed in New Zealand. Due to a left-spiralling shell, Ned has a vanishingly small chance of finding a mate – a predicament that has sparked a nationwide campaign.
Nearly all common garden snails have shells that coil to the right but Ned’s left-spiralling shell is like a mirror image, resulting in a flipped shell and reversed reproductive organs – a configuration that affects roughly 1 in 40,000 snails.