// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Battle to save the tiny, gooey snail only found in one lake in the UK
The glutinous snail was once widespread in the UK, but is now only found in one Welsh lake
A tiny snail found in only one lake in the UK has been dubbed as precious as an Egyptian artefact as conservationists bid to save it.
Several British zoos are setting up so-called ark populations of the glutinous snail, one of Europe's rarest species, using creatures bred in a back garden in Ceredigion.
"Beguiled by their cuteness," conservationist Ian Hughes has made it his "life-defining" mission to protect the threatened mollusc, which was once widespread in UK waters.
"There was a point where we'd got more snails in our garden than have ever been seen in the wild," he said.
Ian has about 2,000 of the snails in homemade tanks in his garden
Myxas glutinosa gets its name from the gooey mantle that covers its extremely delicate, gold-flecked brown shell.
It is no bigger than a fingertip, but has comically large antennae - which Hughes likens to "big floppy ears".
The snails, which feed on algae and are considered an indicator of healthy lakes and rivers, have been driven to extinction across England.
Polluted water and habitat loss are largely blamed for their disappearance.