The Wonder of Land Snails

Big Island Tree Snail/Pūpū kani oe (Partulina physa)

This snail is from Hawaii Island. It is the last known large species of tree snail left on the island.

Lana'i Tree Snail/Pūpū kani oe (Partulina variabilis)

The scientific name for the Lana’i tree snail is Partulina variabilis because this snail can have a large variety of different shell colors and patterns. It is from the Hawaiian island of Lanai and is endangered.

Maui Tree Snail/Pūpū kani oe (Newcombia cumingi)

This snail is native to the island of Maui in Hawaii. Its shell closely resembles the branches of the tree that it lives on, which likely offers it some camouflage. Sadly, the Maui tree snail is endangered and the entire wild population is confined to an area of less than seven acres.

Ka'ala Snail/Pūpū kuahiwi (Kaala subrutila)

The Ka’ala snail is found only on Mt. Ka’ala, the highest mountain on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. It is a tiny ground snail that lives in the bog habitat at the top of the peak.

Pūpū kani oe (Amastra micans)

This species of Hawaiian snail is extinct in the wild, but a captive population exists with the goal to increase the population size and prevent complete extinction. It is from the Waianae Mountains on the island of Oahu.

Crater Lake Tardigrade/Water Bear (Paramacrobiotus craterlaki)

The name “tardigrade” refers to an entire phylum of microscopic eight-legged animals (keep in mind that two other examples of phyla are mollusca and chordata, and chordata contains all animals that have a backbone). Tardigrades are probably most well known for their ability to survive a wide variety of extreme environments. They can survive extreme temperature, pressure, radiation, and desiccation. They can even survive the vacuum of space. They manage to endure these conditions by entering a state of cryptobiosis and becoming a “tun.” In this process, they loose a massive amount of water and and essentially enter a state of suspended animation.

Jumping Snail (Ovachlamys fulgens)

Red Snot-in-a-Hat Snail (Succinea sp.)

In Hawaii, many ambersnails (family: Succineidae) are refereed to as “snot in a hat snails.” This is because many Hawaiian ambersnails have translucent flesh making them look a bit like snot or phlegm. Their small shells are often not large enough for them to fit their big bodies into, making it look a bit like a small puddle of snot is wearing a little hat. However, some Hawaiian ambersnails are not translucent. Some are an interesting shade of red. The ambersnail in the illustration is one of these red ambersnails.

The Hawaiian name for this snail is hinihini’ula or "red land snail."

Central American Mountain Mantleslug (Pallifera costaricensis alticola)

Like other mantleslugs, this slug’s mantle runs the length of its body which gives it a distinctive look. This species is often a light shade of tan or brown with black spots or stripes, however, the subspecies Pallifera costaricensis alticola can be an orange or yellowish color and it possesses exactly three black stripes that run down the length of its body. The Central American mountain mantleslug can be found at high elevations on rotten logs.

Brown Garden Snail (Cornu aspersum)

Red Triangle Slug (Triboniophorus graeffei)

The red triangle slug is a type of leaf-veined slug. This slug in particular is the biggest species of slug in Australia and can reach lengths of nearly six inches. It feeds on algae and mold and produces an extremely sticky slime when threatened. This extra sticky slime can glue predators down for days! These slugs are also notable for being highly polymorphic, meaning that they can come in many different colors. Some are totally cream-colored, others are cream with a reddish fringe. Still others may be a bright shade of yellow, red, or even dark grey instead of the typical cream color.

Ash-black Slug (Limax cinereoniger)

Cuban Painted Snail (Polymita picta)

Widemouth Bulimulus (Amphibulima patula)

You might be thinking that this snail looks a bit too fat to retract into its shell and you’d be right to think that. The widemouth bulimulus is in fact totally unable to retract into its shell. It’s actually a semislug, not a snail. It is native to the island of Dominica where it eats banana and citrus leaves. It can grow to be around an inch long (2.5 cm).

I drew some deep-sea fish!

The fish are:

Gulper Eel (Eurypharynx pelecanoides)

Pacific Spookfish (Rhinochimaera pacifica)

Blobfish/Fathead Sculpin (Psychrolutes microporos)

Black Stareater (Astronesthes niger)

Humpback Anglerfish (Melanocetus johnsonii)

Barreleye Fish (Macropinna microstoma)

They’re available as a set of stickers on Etsy!

Glassy Grapeskin (Vitrinizonites latissimus)

Broad-banded Tree Snail (Drymaeus laticinctus)