Pink slug

Relics: The pink slug, above, eats mould and moss. Photo: Supplied





Cannibal Snail

The cannibal snail dines on other vegetarian snails. Photo: Supplied



Locals had long reported seeing bizarre pink slugs after rainfall in the area, but it was only very recently that taxonomists confirmed the slugs, Triboniophorus aff. graeffei, as well as several of the snail species - which prey on other vegetarian land snails - were unique to the mountaintop.

Slugs map

Jurassic park, almost: Where the slugs appear now.

They are a relic of the era when much of eastern Australia was damp rainforest, and probably would have long since vanished, if a volcano had not erupted at Mount Kaputar about 17 million years ago.


Their heritage can be traced back to Gondwana - when Australia's landmass was connected to others in one vast continent - via relatives that survive in pockets of New Zealand, New Caledonia and South Africa.

But the Mount Kaputar creatures are genetically distinct, restricted to an area of about 10 kilometres by 10 kilometres on their own mountaintop.

The NSW Scientific Committee has been persuaded by evidence of the area's uniqueness, and has just made a preliminary determination to list the site as an ''endangered ecological community'' - granting it one of the highest level of protection from intrusion and development.

''These species have evolved from lowland ancestors and have been isolated in an otherwise snail-hostile environment as conditions began to dry,'' the committee's report said. As a result, they are ''acutely susceptible'' to human-induced climate change. Temperatures a degree or two higher would dry out their mountaintop.

''I'm a big believer in invertebrates,'' Mr Murphy said. ''People tend to focus on the cute and cuddly bird and mammal species like koalas. But these little behind-the-scenes invertebrates really drive whole ecosystems.''