11005-05501 Mount Augustus giant landsnail (Powelliphanta augusta) with eggs in mountain flax. Mount Augustus, on Stockton Plateau was the only home of this Nationally Critical species. By 2009, it's habitat had been entirely destroyed by mountain-top mining, undertaken by the state-owned coal company Solid Energy NZ *
DSC_1353 Mount Augustus giant landsnail (Powelliphanta augusta) a 'climate controlled' captive holding facility at Hokitika. Each ice-cream container on the shelves contains captive Mount Augustus giant land snails in spaghnum moss, some of which have been held in captivity for nearly a decade. The snail's natural home (Mount Augustus on the Stockton Plateau), was destroyed by state-owned coal company Solid Energy NZ, back in 2009. Since then, efforts to find suitable alternative habitat have failed, resulting in many hundreds of snails remaining incarcerated as an insurance measure, in the hope that one day, suitable habitat may be found *
DSSC_8177 Powelliphanta shells showing predator damage, mainly from introduced predators. Left margin (top corner) pig damage: Left margin (centre) weka damage: Left margin (lower) and lower margin (centre) both possum damage: Centre & upper centre, both rat damage: Right margin (five shells) all song thrush damage. Northwest Nelson *
