Field journal Snails

A field journal of shells, trails, and slow lives.

Most land snails coil to the right. The left-handed ones are real, and rare enough to stop a walk.

Behavior

The uses of mucus

The silver trail is a road, a glue, and a message. It is also expensive, which is why other snails reuse it.

Anatomy

How land snails breathe

The small hole on the right side of a garden snail is a lung opening. Many pond snails use a version of the same trick.

Anatomy

Eyes on stalks

The eyes at the tips of the upper tentacles can tell light from dark and not much more. Smell does the finer work.

Anatomy

How a shell is built

The shell grows only at the lip. Calcium carbonate, a protein coat, and a spiral that keeps its shape as it gets larger.

Anatomy

The body under the shell

A garden snail is a muscular foot, a mantle that builds the shell, and a head with eyes on stalks. The shell is part of the body, not a house it found.