# @natgeosociety on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DdSEzNJIyKM
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/70366085-natgeosociety-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/66be37fad9.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-09-14T21:13:30.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** National Geographic Society (@natgeosociety) — https://gondola.cc/natgeosociety

## Caption

"Together with local students, conservationists and members of the public, we discovered two snail species new to science in northwestern Montenegro." — #NatGeoExplorer and cave biologist Iva Njunjić (cavernella)

"We decided to name them after the places where they were discovered: Cochlostoma dobrido, after the Dobri Do Plateau on Durmitor Mountain, and Cochlostoma komarnica, after the Komarnica Canyon. For us, these names are more than scientific labels — they are a way of giving these places a voice and drawing attention to the extraordinary biodiversity they hold.

This discovery is a reminder of how much biodiversity in this part of the Balkans remains undocumented and invisible to the public. But it also highlights what is at stake: the Komarnica Canyon is still unprotected and threatened. At a time when species are disappearing faster than we can document them, we simply cannot afford to sacrifice places like Komarnica — a refuge for rare and endemic species and biodiversity we are only beginning to understand."

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This work was supported in part by the National Geographic Society Community Fund as well as research partner organizations including taxon_expeditions, taxon_foundation and mes_cde. With an additional grant through the forNature program, supported by the Society, Njunjić is continuing her research to build scientific evidence protecting the Komarnica River’s right to flow, regenerate, and thrive.

Photos by Sotiris Kountouras (Taxon Expeditions), Roman Willi (Wildreach Productions), Pierre Escobas (Taxon Expeditions) and Slavko Nikolić

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## Tags

natgeoexplorer

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