On the Trail of a Snail

Whatever the time of year, we always find something of interest on our nature walks. A few days ago we found ourselves on the trail of a snail, which crossed right in front of us. It glided slowly but stealthily over twigs and needles, toting a brown spiral shell on its back. When I got home, I pulled out my copy of “Land Snails of British Columbia” by Robert Forsyth, an excellent guide to our provinces’ slugs and snails, to learn more about this quiet but compelling creature.

In evolutionary terms, slugs and snails are very successful, with as many as 35,000 species of land dwelling slugs and snails in the world, and 94 species in BC.

Snails belong to a large group of marine and land-dwelling creatures called molluscs. The word mollusc comes from the Greek word “mollis” meaning soft, in reference to the soft-fleshed body. Continue reading »

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