Category Archives: Molluscs

Eastern Forest Snail

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Snails are best known for their shell. The shell is made by the snail by a part of the body called the mantle. Snails secrete an acidic material from the sole of their foot that dissolves calcium in the soil and allows its uptake, so the shell can be created.

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Eastern Forest Snails are our most common land snail. They grow a large shell, sometimes over an inch wide. The shell is fairly flat and tan with darker blotches. There is a flared opening leading into the shell.

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They are herbivores, eating living or dead plant material. They are very important for controlling plant populations and breaking down plant materials.

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These snails can move several inches in a minute. They release an orange slime as they crawl. The slime gives them a “cushion” to crawl over. This cushion protects their soft bodies from sharp things. Snails can also use old slime trails as paths back to food or shelter.

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Land snails can be considered one of the many building blocks for the ecosystems in which they reside; providing not only a food source but accessibility to calcium. I enjoy looking at the unique, interesting patterns on their shells.

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Chitons

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I decided to check out these west coast tidal pools today and saw some odd organisms.

The Chiton is a mysterious creature with eight protective shell plates and a muscular foot, which anchors it to a rock. It is impossible to pry it off the rock with your bare hands.

Chitons are generally sluggish and many are nocturnal and remain concealed under rocks during the day. Their food mainly consists of algae scraped off the rocks, but some also consume animal matter. Its shell plates are often broken, but it can repair such breaks. When exposed to air during low tide, a Chiton can breathe oxygen from the atmosphere.

Recently it has been discovered that this armored relative of snails is unique among living animals, because it sees the world through lenses of limestone, and its eyes literally erode as it gets older. Chitons may be the only living animals with rocky eyes of this sort. Another group of extinct oceanic animals – the trilobites – had lenses made from calcite, another form of limestone.

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Banana Slugs

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While exploring the dark, damp redwood forest floor today, it was hard not to notice the vibrant yellow coloration of Banana Slugs. While often bright yellow, they are also sometimes spotted with brown, looking like an overripe banana.

Not only are they colorful, but they are the second largest terrestrial slug in the world, growing up to nearly 10 inches. Here’s a photo of one taken next to a nickel for a size reference.

They use two pairs of feelers to sense their environment. The larger, upper pair, termed “eyestalks,” are used to detect light or movement. The second, lower pair are used to detect chemicals. The tentacles can retract and extend themselves to avoid damage. Slugs have a respiratory hole for breathing on one side (almost always on the right) of their bodies.

Slugs are mollusks and because they don’t live in the water, dehydration is a major problem for them. For this reason they secrete protective slime to keep from losing water. 

Some people regard slugs as slimy, disgusting garden pests. But not everyone sees them that way. UC Santa Cruz has adopted the banana slug as their mascot. The students’ embrace of such a lowly creature was their response to the fierce athletic competition fostered at most American universities.

By consuming dead organic matter, slugs contribute to decomposition and the nutrient cycles and are an important aspect of the ecosystem. Here’s a Banana Slug eating a banana peel on a trashcan in a State Park.

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