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New species of snail finds home after 100 years in hiding

It has taken 110 years to cover 27 painstaking metres, but one of Britain's most recently discovered species has finally found a home.

Papillifera papillaris - a type of Italian snail - arrived in England near the end of the 19th century, having hitched a ride on a stone balustrade imported from Rome. It then disappeared.

A colony of the tiny snails, which have distinctive spindle-shaped shells 11mm long, has now been found on the “tortoise fountain” in the Italian-style gardens of the Cliveden Estate, Buckinghamshire.

The visitors were discovered by volunteers who were cleaning statues in the formal gardens of the mansion, which today is a hotel.

Read entire article at The Times