Rare Gibraltar snail discovery makes international magazine cover

A photograph of two minute land snails taken in Gibraltar by Dr Alex Menez has featured on the cover of Mollusc World magazine (Issue 68, July 2025). The image showed Acicula norrisi, one of Gibraltar’s smallest and rarest molluscs.

The species was first recorded in the early 1880s when malacologist John Ponsonby found a single empty shell, though it was not identified at the time. In 1975, Adrian Norris discovered further empty shells, which were formally described as a new species in 1977 and named after him. Gibraltar was recorded as the type locality.

Dr Menez, a scientist at the Gibraltar National Museum and honorary researcher at the University of Gibraltar, had searched for the snail for decades, repeatedly finding only empty shells and raising concerns that the species might be extinct. In March this year, he located several live specimens, measuring around 3mm in length, and photographed them.

The photographs provide the first confirmed evidence that Acicula norrisi is still living on the Rock. The species is protected, and the find highlights the importance of long-term field research in conservation.

Dr Menez said the discovery demonstrates the value of systematic study in understanding and protecting Gibraltar’s biodiversity at a time when other species have been lost.

Minister for Environment Dr John Cortes, who together with Prof Clive Finlayson of the Gibraltar National Museum were behind the introduction of the Nature Protection Act in 1991, commented: “This discovery by Alex Menez is an incredible story, rightly given prominence in a much-respected international journal. It once again highlights the importance of the work of the National Museum, GONHS, and others, in researching and protecting Gibraltar’s rich, and internationally important biodiversity”.