Fertilization in the American five-lined skink is internal, with eggs laid by the female between the middle of May and July, at least one month after mating. Males will mate with multiple females. The mating season begins in May. The female Plestiodon will lay its eggs in June, and four to six weeks after the incubation, the young hatch.  Thus the birthing process consists of laying eggs and external incubation. Fertilization occur shortly after copulation, unlike many other lizard species Plestiodon fasciatus females are unable to store sperm between successive clutches. One study found that most clutches had multiple sires, but within those clutches, there was unequal sharing of paternity.
Females lay fifteen to eighteen eggs in a small cavity cleared beneath a rotting log, stump, board, loose bark, a rock, or an abandoned rodent burrow. Females prefer secluded nest sites in large, moderately decayed logs. Soil moisture is also an important factor in nest selection. Females often place nests in regions where soil moisture is higher than in adjacent areas. Vertical position of the nest also varies with moisture, with nests located deeper in a soil cavity at dry sites. Even when nesting sites are not limited, a significant amount of aggregation occurs.
The parchment-like eggs of the American five-lined skink, similar to many other reptiles, are thin and easily punctured. Freshly laid eggs range from spherical to oval in shape averaging 1.3 cm (0.51 in) in length. Absorption of water from the soil leads to increased egg size. Egg coloration also changes over time, from white to mottled tan, after contact with the nest burrow. The incubation period ranges from 24 to 55 days, and varies due to fluctuations in temperature. Females typically brood their eggs during this time, exhibiting defensive behavior against smaller predators. Parental care ends a day or two after hatching when hatchlings leave the nest. Young American five-lined skinks, with a potential life span of up to six years, attain sexual maturity and begin reproducing within two to three years of hatching.


American five-lined skinks can be maintained in captivity with minimal care. Some U.S. states impose general restrictions on taking reptiles including native American five-lined skinks from the wild without a permit or hunting license, for example Maryland (no more than 4 may be possessed without a permit), Indiana and Ohio.
A pair of skinks may live in a 25-30 US gallon terrarium, and may live for 5–10 years with adequate care.


Pantherophis vulpinus, commonly known as the foxsnake (or eastern fox snake), is a species of rat snake that is endemic to North America. It is a non-venomous colubrid.


Fox Snakes are strict carnivores. Their primary diet consists of mice and other small rodents, but they will take any prey small enough to swallow whole, including young rabbits, frogs, fledgling birds and eggs. As constrictors, they subdue their prey by squeezing it between their coils.


Adult eastern foxsnakes are 3 to 6 feet (0.91 to 1.83 m) in total length (including tail) and have a short, flattened snout. Dorsally, they are usually light golden brown with dark brown spots and they have a yellow checkerboard pattern on the belly.
Like most North American snakes, foxsnakes are not venomous. Foxsnakes earned their name because the musk they give off when threatened smells similar to a fox.


Fox Snakes mate in April and May. Males wrestle with one another for the right to mate with females. In June, July or August, the female will bury a clutch of seven to 27 eggs under a log or in debris on the forest floor. These hatch after an approximately 60 day incubation period. Young fox snakes are usually much lighter in color than adults.
They are often a welcome sight around farmlands, where they consume a large number of rodents that can otherwise be harmful to crops, or transmit parasites to captive animal stocks, though they are opportunistic feeders and will sometimes also eat fledgling chickens or eggs, which sometimes leads them to be erroneously called the chicken snake.


Crotalus oreganus, commonly known as the (northern) Pacific rattlesnake, is a venomous pit viper species found in western North America from the Baja California Peninsula to the southern interior of British Columbia.


Using its heat-sensing facial pits to locate prey, C. oreganus eats birds, bird eggs, and small mammals, from mice to rabbits. It also eats small reptiles and amphibians.  The juveniles eat insects.


The size of this species varies greatly, with some populations being stunted and others growing very large. Mainland specimens often reach 100 cm (39 in) in length, with the largest on record being 162.6 cm (64.0 in) (Klauber, 1956) for C. o. oreganus.
This species, in its various forms, shows considerable ontogenetic variation. Juveniles usually have more or less distinct patterns, but these fade as the animals mature. The color of the iris often matches the ground color, which may be bronze, gold, or different shades of tan, pink, or gray.
The color pattern of the typical form, C. o. oreganus, has a dark-brown, dark-gray, olive-brown, or sometimes black or pale yellowish ground color overlaid dorsally with a series of large, dark blotches with uneven white edges. These blotches are also wider than the spaces that separate them. Additionally, a lateral series of blotches, usually darker than the dorsal blotches, is clearly visible on all but the darkest specimens. The first rings of the tail are about the same color as the last body blotches, but these rings become progressively darker; the last two rings, at the base of the tail, are usually black. The belly is pale yellow, usually with brown spots. A large, dark-brown blotch on the snout has a pale border behind it that forms transverse bars on the supraoculars. There is a dark brown postocular stripe with a white border that extends from the eye to around the angle of the jaw.


Sexually mature females bear live young in broods of as many as 25.


The snake is found in the US states of Missouri, Texas, Kansas, Illinois, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas and in Mexico.


It is native to the Bahama Islands, the Cayman Islands and Cuba. It was introduced intentionally in Palm Beach, Florida, in the 1940s in an attempt to control sugar cane pests, and is now also present in a few other parts of the state. Another introduced population inhabits Swan Islands, Honduras.


Adults may attain a snout to vent length (SVL) of 10.5 cm (4.1 in), or a total length, including the tail, of 26 cm (10 in). The dorsal scales are keeled and pointed. L. carinatus resembles lizards of the genus Sceloporus, but with the tail usually curled upward, especially when the lizard is in a horizontal position on rocks or on the ground.


Tiliqua scincoides (common blue-tongued skink, blue-tongued lizard, common bluetongue) is a species of skink. It is native to Australia as well as to the Tanimbar and Babar Islands in the Maluku Province of Indonesia.


This is a large terrestrial lizard measuring up to 60 centimetres long and 1 kilogram in mass. It has a stout body and short legs. It is variable in color but generally has a banded pattern. The tongue is blue-violet to cobalt blue in color. Due to its characteristic blue tongue and its curious nature, it is a popular companion animal in Western countries.
This lizard is diurnal, active during the day. It is omnivorous, feeding on insects, snails, frogs, other reptiles, small birds, small mammals, carrion, some plant material, fruits, and fungi. It is ovoviviparous, the eggs hatching inside the female's body; she then gives birth to 5 to 25 live young per litter. This species is known to live over 30 years. It is an adaptable animal, often finding habitat in urban and suburban areas, including residential areas of Sydney. The lizard is considered beneficial in these areas, with its appetite for garden pests such as slugs and snails.
When threatened it may hiss and reveal its blue tongue, startling potential predators.
There are three color-morphs of Tiliqua scincoides: albino, wild-type, and melanistic.  In warm environments, the wild-type T. scincoides and melanistic T. scincoides have skin with lower reflectance compared to the albino T. scincoides, therefore these two lizards can warm their bodies at a faster rate.


Storeria occipitomaculata, commonly known as the redbelly snake or the red-bellied snake, is a species of snake endemic to North America (Canada and the United States).


S. occipitomaculata prefers warmer habitats and in the more Northern limits of its range will inhabit abandoned ant mounds. These mounds absorb solar radiation and are insulated which allows for a longer active season. This species, with large eyes and a kinetic skull, are not able to burrow on their own effectively and abandoned ant mounds allow them access to a warm area to retreat to. Individuals of this species can be found under logs and leafy debris due to their secretive nature.


Redbelly snakes have been studied to reproduce annually and females have been found to be gravid during the spring and early summer. While body size varies throughout the redbelly snake's region, the average clutch size tends to remain the same with an average of 7-9 eggs per clutch. Redbelly snakes begin mating at around two years of age and must be a minimum of 22 cm in order to reach sexual maturity.


Spilotes pullatus, commonly known as the caninana, tiger rat snake, chicken snake, yellow rat snake, or serpiente tigre, is a species of large nonvenomous colubrid snake endemic to warmer parts of the Americas.


It feeds on a wide variety of prey, including small mammals, birds, and lizards.


Adults may attain a maximum total length of 2.7 m (8.9 ft).
Dorsally, S. pullatus is black with yellow spots which may form crossbands. The tip of the snout is yellow. The head shields may be mostly yellow, or mostly black, or crossbanded with a combination of yellow and black, but the sutures between the shields are always black. Ventrally, it is yellow with irregular black crossbands.
The body is relatively slender and somewhat laterally compressed. The head is distinct from the neck. The eye is moderate in size with a round pupil. There are no suboculars, and the loreal is either very small or absent. There are 6 or 7 upper labials, the 3rd and 4th entering the eye, the last two very large. The dorsal scales are pointed and overlapping.
The dorsal scales are arranged in 16 (or 14) rows at midbody. Ventrals 198-232; anal plate entire; subcaudals 90-120, divided.


It tends to inhabit forested areas, and is often found near water.


Crotalus viridis (Common names: prairie rattlesnake, Great Plains rattlesnake,) is a venomous pit viper species native to the western United States, southwestern Canada, and northern Mexico. Currently, two subspecies are recognized, including the prairie rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis viridis), the nominate subspecies, and the Hopi rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis nuntius).


Prairie rattlesnakes, because of their expansive distribution, have a wide array of prey. Generally, this species prefers small mammals, such as ground squirrels, ground nesting birds, mice, rats, small rabbits and prairie dogs. They will occasionally feed on amphibians and reptiles, and sometimes even other snakes. This is more commonly seen in juvenile snakes.


This species commonly grows to more than 100 cm (3.3 ft) in length. The maximum recorded size is 151.5 cm (4.97 ft). In Montana, specimens occasionally exceed 120 centimetres (3.9 ft) in length; the species reaches its maximum size in this region. One of the most characteristic features is the presence of three or more, usually four, internasal scales.
Identification characteristics will vary depending on which subspecies is encountered.  Generally, prairie rattlesnakes are usually lightly colored in hues of brown.  Patches of dark brown are often distributed in a dorsal pattern.  A color band may be seen at the back of the eye.  The prairie rattlesnake group carries the distinctive triangle-shaped head and pit sensory organs on either side of the head.  A key characteristic that can help differentiate a prairie rattlesnake from other rattlesnakes is the presence of two internasals contacting the rostral.


Prairie rattlesnakes are viviparous and can produce from one to 25 young per reproduction event. The average number of young ranges from four to 12, but can vary greatly due to availability of food and environmental conditions. Males may compete for females during the breeding season, but western rattlesnake females may not necessarily breed every year. They give birth in late summer or early fall, being their breed 22–28 cm long, without the need for parental care. In addition, the young are toxic as soon as they are born. They reach sexual maturity at three years of age. It is also common for females to give birth at communal den sites with the young born between August and October.


Prairie kingsnakes' preferred habitat is open grassland with loose, dry soil, typically on the edge of a forested region, not far from a permanent source of water. Their diet consists primarily of rodents, but they will also consume lizards, frogs and occasionally other snakes. They are nonvenomous, and typically docile. Like most colubrids, if harassed they will shake their tail, which if in dry leaf litter can sound remarkably like a rattlesnake. They are not typically prone to biting, and if handled will often excrete a foul-smelling musk.  When threatened, they flatten and appear to have white spots.


Prairie kingsnakes are found mostly in the midwestern and southeastern United States although they can be found in other areas. Their additional range extends west from southeast Nebraska to eastern Texas.
At least two subspecies are currently recognized including mole kingsnake (Lampropeltis calligaster rhombomaculata) and south Florida mole kingsnake (Lampropeltis calligaster occipitolineata).


It is light brown or grey in color, with dark grey, dark brown, or reddish-brown blotching down the length of their bodies. They are capable of growing to lengths of 76–102 cm (30–40 in). They are easily mistaken for various species of rat snake of the genus Pantherophis, which share habitat, and can have similar markings. Some specimens have their markings faded, to appear almost a solid brown color.  Juveniles usually have a brown stripe down the back of their bodies.  They have two black spots behind the head and smaller black spots down the back on both sides of the stripe.


Elements of the mole kingsnake's reproduction corresponds, in part, to the general colubrid mating pattern. Egg laying has been reported in June through July, with clutch sizes ranging from 6 - 17 eggs.


Mainly nocturnal or crepuscular. Also active during the day, on sunny days at the end of the winter especially. They like to receive sunlight near their refuge. They hunt insects and in the warmer months of the year it can be found hunting nocturnal insects near light sources, street lamps, etc. They lay 2 almost-spherical eggs twice a year around April and June. After 4 months, little salamanquesas of less than 5 centimetres (2.0 in) in length are born. Moorish geckos are slow to mature, taking 4 to 5 years in captivity.
The introduction of the species may impact on native fauna, by preying on frogs and smaller lizards. The adoption of this species as a pet has led to populations becoming established in Florida and elsewhere.
It is the host of Haemoproteus tarentolae, a protozoan species in the genus Haemoproteus, and Esther's gecko mite (Geckobia estherae), endemic to Malta.


Tarentola mauritanica, known as the common wall gecko, is a species of gecko (Gekkota) native to the western Mediterranean area of North Africa and Europe. It has been introduced to Madeira and Balearic Islands, and the Americas (in Montevideo, Buenos Aires and California). A nocturnal animal with a predominantly insectivorous diet, it is commonly observed on walls in urban environments in warm coastal areas; it can be found further inland, especially in Spain where it has a tradition of cohabitation with humans as an insect hunter. A robust species, up to 15 centimetres (5.9 in) long, its tubercules are enlarged and give the species a spiny armoured appearance.
The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It is also known as moorish gecko, crocodile gecko, European common gecko, and, regionally, as osga (in Portuguese), salamanquesa (in Spanish) and dragó (in Catalan).


Adults can measure up to 15 centimetres (5.9 in), tail included. Robust body and flat head. Back, legs and tail with prominent conic tubercles. Its regenerated tail is smoother and doesn't have tubercles. Obtuse mouth, big eyes with no eyelids and vertical pupil. Fingers with big lateral growths and adherent division less laminae in the bottom face. Only the third and fourth fingers end in union. Brownish grey or brown coloration with darker or lighter spots. These colours change in intensity according to the light. When they are active by day their colour is darker than during the night. It can be found on many construction sites, ruins, rock fields, tree trunks, etc.


Trimeresursus stejnegeri  is a species of venomous pit viper endemic to Asia. Two subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.
Common names for this pit viper include Stejneger's pit viper, Chinese pit viper, Chinese green tree viper, bamboo viper, Chinese bamboo pitviper, 69 bamboo viper, and Chinese tree viper. For other common, non-scientific names, see § Common names below.


Trimeresurus stejnegeri grows to a maximum total length of 75 centimetres (30 in), which includes a tail length of 14.5 centimetres (5.7 in). The males have hemipenes that are short and spinose beyond the bifurcation.
The dorsal scales are arranged in 21 longitudinal rows at midbody. There are 9–11 upper labials, of which the first are separated from nasal scales by a distinct suture. The supraoculars are single, narrow, and sometimes divided by a transverse suture. There are 11–16 scales in a line between the supraoculars. The ventrals number 150–174, and the subcaudals are 54–77. All of the subcaudals are paired.
The color pattern is bright to dark green above, pale green to whitish below, the two separated by a bright bicolored orange or brown (below) and white (above) (males) or bicolored or white only (females) ventrolateral stripe, which occupies the whole of the outermost scale row and a portion of the second row.
Bamboo vipers are carnivores: they eat small rodents, birds, frogs, and lizards.


The preferred natural habitat of T. stejnegeri is forest, at altitudes from sea level to 2,000 m (6,600 ft).


Nerodia clarkii, commonly known as the salt marsh snake, is a species of semiaquatic, nonvenomous, colubrid snake found in the southeastern United States, in the brackish salt marshes along the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Texas, with a population in northern Cuba.


Salt marsh snakes grow to a total length (including tail) of 15 inches (38 cm) to 30 inches (76 cm), and are highly variable in pattern and coloration. Populations of the Gulf salt marsh snake (N. c. clarkii) from the vicinity of Corpus Christi, Texas, to the Gulf Hammock region of Florida are gray, tan or yellow with four brown to black longitudinal stripes.
Populations in Florida from Tampa Bay south to Miami and northward along the Atlantic coast to the vicinity of Cape Canaveral are referred to as the mangrove salt marsh snake (N. c. compressicauda). This subspecies exhibits many colors and patterns and can be gray, green, or tan with darker banding or may even be solid reddish orange or straw yellow.
A third subspecies, the Atlantic salt marsh snake (N. c. taeniata), is restricted to a small stretch of coastline in Volusia and Indian River Counties, Florida.  This race is smaller than the other two and has a color pattern of four dark stripes on the neck which are replaced by a series of dark blotches or bands on the posterior portion of the snake's body.  It is currently listed as a Threatened Species by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.


Its diet consists of mainly insects (such as grasshoppers, butterflies, cockroaches, beetles, termites, and insect larvae), frogs, other lizards (such as anoles), and spiders.


Ameiva ameiva, also known as the giant ameiva, green ameiva, South American ground lizard, or Amazon racerunner, is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae found in Central, South America, and some Caribbean Islands.


Ameiva ameiva has a streamlined body, pointed head, slightly forked tongue, and muscular hind legs. They grow to approximately 45–50 cm (18–20 in). Both sexes have random black specks and mottling along the sides. Females usually have much less green than males and a more dusty of a green color. Males have vibrant green coloration and more bold mottling. Males also have more expanded jowls. They are popular as a pet because of the male's striking green coloration.


They live on the forest floor, often sheltering underneath logs and in leaf litter. Captive individuals have been observed making tunnels spanning out from under a log or rock when given enough soil.


It is found in southern Africa, from KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa to southern Malawi; isolated populations occur in central to southeastern Tanzania and southern Kenya. It is found in rocky and mountainous regions of these countries.


T. margaritifera is a medium-sized lizard reaching a length of about 20 centimetres (7.9 in). The coloration of this species is quite variable, depending on the gender and the age. The scales are glossy, with metallic reflections. The basic colour is usually olive-brown or dark brown, sometimes with pearly whitish spots and with three light yellow-orange longitudinal stripes running from the head to the electric blue tail. These stripes may fade and become indistinct in the adults.
The head shows a pointed snout and clearly visible ears holes. Just behind the ear opening, there are some black spots. Legs are dark brown, short and strong, with relatively long toes. The flanks are mainly yellowish and the underside of the body is whitish.


Geckos have a simple diet of live insects and smaller organisms. The diet of a gecko includes, but is not limited to, spiders, isopodas, moths, flies, grasshoppers and caterpillars. As expected, due to an individual's size and preference, the diet has a lot of variation. In other gecko species, the tail acts as a storage organ which can hold reserves of fat which the individual can use in times of food scarcity. Most gecko species cannot digest leaves and other tough plant material easily, however W. maculata and other New Zealand gecko species feed off plant material that is easily digestible and high in energy like pollen, nectar, sap or fruit.
Mainland geckos are commonly preyed on invasive species such as stoats, cats, hedgehogs and rodents. On off-shore islands where these invasive species are not present, the morepork is considered the main predator. Rodents eat both the adult gecko and their eggs and are particularly dangerous for larger geckos. Although W. maculata are too small to fight them off, their heads are too big to fit in gaps small enough in which they would be safe from the predator.Cree found that W. maculata reproduces annually, and has evidence to suggest that some populations may be reproducing biannually. Cree also recognised that on average, each female produces less than 2 offspring per year and are slow to mature.


W. maculata can be found all over New Zealand; however, individuals in different locations across the country (especially in the North Island) differ from each other in a number of ways. Individuals in the South Island are often more slender and darker in colour than those in the North Island. The species is not usually detected on Stewart Island. In the Hauraki Gulf, the geckos are commonly found on stony beaches and are a smaller size, with crenulated longitudinal stripes. W. maculata are found in the Coromandel and central North Island are generally found in lowland forests and are much larger, as well as being of various colours. The Southern North Island populations appear to be two-thirds smaller than nearby populations and exhibit sexual dimorphism. Populations which occupy the Cook Strait and nearby mainland's show to be a mix of the common Northern and Southern forms.


W. maculata is a small to medium-sized gecko, with an average length of 155mm, and has a predominant colour of grey or brown.  The name maculata refers to the speckled pattern seen on this species (NZ Herpetological Society). The eyes are a greenish brown, with the snout-to-eye distance slightly longer, or equal to, the eye-to-ear distance. 'The mouth is lined in pink and has a pink tongue with a grey tip. Woodworthia maculata often occupies the same area as a couple of similar looking geckos; Dactylocnemis pacificus and W. chrysosireticus. W. maculata can be distinguished from W. chrysosireticus by the lack of black speckles which are seen on W. chrysosireticus. W. maculata differs from D. pacificus when looking closely at the nostril. In maculata the nostril scale is not in contact with the nostril, but in D. pacificus it is in contact.


W. maculata is terrestrial but is often found in trees, only in forested areas. A study by H. Frank and DJ Wilson (2011) showed that maculata is also commonly found in rocky areas with cracks and crevices, without a permanent shade cover. Few individuals were detected in highly grazed areas with no grass cover remaining.


W. maculata has been found to have a characteristically long lifespan, with a suggested lifespan of 20 years. Some individuals have been aged at 29 years. A more recent study proposes that the species may live up to 37 years in the wild. It has been suggested that W. maculata may have a long lifespan to balance their slow reproductive rate.


Liolaemus tenuis, known as the jewel lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Iguanidae. Other names are thin tree iguana, slender lizard and thin lizard.
It is endemic to Chile.
It is a relatively small species, with a 5.5 cm snout–vent length. Of diurnal habits, it feeds mainly of insects. It is sometimes kept as a pet.


Diploderma swinhonis, also known commonly as the Taiwan japalure, Swinhoe's japalure, Swinhoe's lizard, and Swinhoe's tree lizard (Chinese: 斯文豪氏攀蜥), is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is native to Taiwan. It is considered an invasive alien species in Japan after likely being transported from Taiwan by humans. A foraging ambush predator, this lizard preys primarily on arthropods and thus remains at the bottom of forests perched on trees where sunlight is present. Diploderma swinhonis is not a major threat to humans and is able to adapt to a variety of habitats, including urban environments. Male Diploderma swinhonis are physically distinct from females, with their body sizes being much larger and having a yellow stripe. These lizards sexually reproduce on a seasonal basis and hibernate during the winter time.


D. swinhonis exhibit sexual dimorphism, with regard to both coloration and size. The maximum length, including its tail, of D. swinhonis is approximately 31 cm (12 in), its body is 8 cm (3.1 in) long. The average body mass of immature lizards is approximately 2 grams while the average body mass of mature lizards is approximately 13.4 grams. The male is also known to be significantly larger than the female, with the snout vent lengths for adult males and females being approximately 73 mm and 62 mm respectively. Males also have much larger dewlaps than females. Additionally, they have brown backs, males have a brighter color, and males have a yellow stripe on each side of the body. Some of the female lizards have a brown-red pattern on the dorsal side of their body. Males bodies are compressed while female bodies are more cylindrical-like. In comparison to other lizards of the same genus, D. Swinhonis is unique in that it has enlarged scales that occur irregularly across the dorsal side of the lizard. Also, these tree lizards have relatively long limbs compared to other lizards, but females have shorter limbs, heads, and tails in comparison to the males. It is also important to note that there have been physical differences found amongst D. swinhonis based on the region of Taiwan or Japan they are located in, with differences including their weight, sizes, reproductive abilities and period. Therefore, these lizards do not necessarily have one unique appearance in the environment.


D. swinhonis is arboreal (or preferential to tree habitats) and lives at low altitudes below 1,500 m (4,900 ft) in lowland forests within Taiwan. The lizard is diurnal and is commonly found in wide-ranging habitats that include forests and urban areas, such as shopping malls. This indicates that the lizard is able to adapt quite well to various environments. Additionally, it is known to reside close to the ground on tree trunks and forage on the ground. Males are typically at greater altitudes on the trees, while females and juveniles reside closer to the ground and near bushes. Male D. swinhonis use aggressive displays to maintain their territory, and the lizard is known to be an opportunistic predator that waits and ambushes their prey. The males have been found to be territorial in order to increase chances of mating rather than protecting a food resource. Larger male lizards have a competitive edge over smaller male lizards in finding mates and maintaining their territory. Therefore, there is competition within the species in order to find mates. The advantage of being larger might be why males are currently so much larger than females. Between two and three females are found within each male’s territory, and females primarily dig a nest and guard their eggs, causing them to have comparatively smaller ranges. In the presence of another animal, the male expands their throat to display white spots inside their throat and scare the intruder. Within Taiwan, these lizards are known to hibernate between the months of November and March. They are not commonly found when hibernating, but are found outside of this time. The only predator currently found to prey on D. swinhonis is the brown shrike, but only during its migration season. With regard to the territories that the male D. swinhonis reside within and defend, they are established once the male is large enough ). Additionally, males stay within the range that defines their home territory for when they are reproducing and also when they are not reproducing. Females on the other hand can leave these ranges after the reproductive season is over, which likely occurs for the purpose of increasing reproductive success with other mates.


D. swinhonis is reported to sexually reproduce on a seasonal basis, with females being sexually active between the months of March to August and males being sexually active from March to July. Spermatogenesis in males occurs around this same time period that females are laying their eggs. Every year, female D. swinhonis deposit 2 litters of eggs, which include on average 4.27 eggs within every clutch. Also, eggs within the same clutch have been found to have similarities in terms of their physical dimensions. D. swinhonis is known to reproduce ovipariously. The lizard’s reproductive cycle is quite similar to other lizards within Japan and other reptiles living in temperate areas. It is also known that D. swinhonis female lizards take approximately 350 days to mature while male lizards take between 140 and 260 days to mature depending on whether they are from a late or early clutch. Therefore, the male lizards take less time to mature in comparison to the females. Also, it has been found that female lizards with snout-vent lengths greater than 50.2 mm are sexually mature. Similarly, male lizards with snout-vent lengths greater than 53 mm are also considered mature. These sizes are due to the growth needed for spermatogenesis and the development of ovarian follicles in males and females respectively.


Sternotherus odoratus are omnivorous. The most common prey in the diet are Mollusks (gastropods and bivalves), insects (including larva, adults, aquatic and terrestrial), and crustaceans (amphipods, isopods, and crayfish). Other items documented in the diet include earthworms, leeches, spiders, millipedes, small fish and fish eggs, amphibians (tadpoles and small frogs), small turtles, carrion, filamentous green algae, parts of vascular plants (e.g. Cornus, Eichhornia, Elodea, Hydrilla, Najas, Nuphar, Utricularia, Vallisneria), and a variety of seeds. Juveniles and sub-adults (under 5 cm.) feed on a higher percentage of aquatic insects, algae, and carrion with an ontogenetic shift to a broader diet in adults.
Sternotherus odoratus are predominantly aquatic, bottom feeders, but they are known to feed at the surface, and forage on land on occasion. Eastern musk turtles typically walk on the bottom of waterways with their necks extended searching for food, probing their heads into sand, mud, and decaying vegetation. An Oklahoma study found them to be euryphagous with seasonal changes in the diet, and food preferences directly related to availability, taking more animal food in the summer and plant material in the winter. Vegetation is a smaller, but consistent portion of the diet. Stomach and colon contents from 68 specimens were analyzed revealing 97.4% of the individuals had aquatic vegetation, comprising 20.4% of the volume.  Missouri populations of S. odoratus were studied and found monthly, seasonal, and sexual differences in dietary preferences, in part due to sexual differences in peak activity and reproductive conditions. The study refuted the idea that S. odoratus are simply dietary generalists and that fluctuations in food availability, density, seasonal variation, and reproductive conditions influence their diet. Another study in Florida found the absence, or presents and competition, between other musk turtle species can influence the diet.
A Michigan study suggested that the scavenging habits may be overestimated in the species and that musk turtles feed readily on freshly dead material but refuse animal flesh in advanced stages of decay. All fish remains from the digestive tracts were carrion, predominantly fish injured by anglers and dead or dying bait "minnows" dumped by fishermen.


Sternotherus odoratus is a species of small turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is native to southeastern Canada and much of the Eastern United States. It is also known commonly as the common musk turtle, eastern musk turtle, or stinkpot due to its ability to release a foul musky odor from scent glands on the edge of its shell, possibly to deter predation. This turtle is grouped in the same family as mud turtles.


The stinkpot is a small black, grey or brown turtle with a highly domed shell. It grows to a straight carapace length of approximately 5.1–14 cm (2.0–5.5 in) and averages in weight at 318 g (0.701 lb). It has a long neck and rather short legs. The yellow lines on the neck are a good field marker, and often can be seen from above in swimming turtles. Males can usually be distinguished from females by their significantly longer tails and by the spike that protrudes at the end of the tail. The anal vent on the underside of the tail extends out beyond the plastron on males. Females are also typically larger than males. The head is vaguely triangular in shape, with a pointed snout and sharp beak, and yellow-green striping from the tip of the nose to the neck. Barbels are present on the chin and the throat. The plastron is relatively small, offering little protection for the legs, and has only one transverse, anterior hinge. Algae often grow on their carapaces. Their tiny tongues are covered in bud-like papillae that allow them to respire underwater.
This species is less buoyant than free swimming species and regulates buoyancy by varying its lung volume. They lack the cloacal bursae, internal pouch like structures, that some similar species have that assist with regulating buoyancy by storing water.


S. odoratus turtle is found in a variety of wetland habitats and littoral zones, particularly shallow watercourses with a slow current and muddy bottom. Although it is more aquatic than some turtles, it is also capable of climbing, and may be seen basking on fallen trees and woody debris. Fallen trees and coarse woody debris are known to be important components of wetland habitat, and may be particularly beneficial to basking turtles. Like all turtles, the stinkpot must nest on land, and shoreline real estate development is detrimental. S. odoratus is also commonly found on roads during the nesting season, having fallen victim to road mortality, particularly after heavy rainfall. It hibernates buried in the mud under logs, or in muskrat lodges.


Breeding of the eastern musk turtle occurs in the spring, and females often lay between 2 and 9 elliptical, hard-shelled eggs in a shallow burrow or under shoreline debris. An unusual behavior is the tendency to share nesting sites; in one case there were 16 nests under a single log. The eggs hatch in late summer or early fall after an incubation period of 100 to 150 days, making this turtle a species that displays delayed emergence. Although in many turtles egg size increases with female size, that may not be the cause for musk turtles. Egg width increases, and elongation (length/width) decreases as female size and clutch size increases. One study found females that differed considerably in size still produced eggs of the same mean shape and size. However, the females were of similar age suggesting egg size and shape may be age specific. In this same study they found that the female's pelvic aperture gap was always wider than the width of the largest egg and there is no found optimal egg size that prevails better than others.
 Egg predation is a major cause of mortality, as with many turtle species. In one Pennsylvania population, hatching success was only 15 percent, and predators alone destroyed 25 of 32 nests. Hatchlings are usually less than one inch long and have a very ridged shell which will become less pronounced as they age and will eventually be completely smooth and domed. Its lifespan, as with most turtles, is quite long, with specimens in captivity being recorded at 50+ years of age.


O. aeneus is a mildly venomous rear-fanged snake, but it is not considered dangerous to humans.


O. aeneus feeds mainly on lizards (mostly anoles), but also eats frogs, small rodents and birds.


Oxybelis aeneus, commonly known as the Mexican vine snake or brown vine snake, is a species of colubrid snake, which is endemic to the Americas.


O. aeneus is an extremely slender snake that reaches up to 1.9 metres (6.2 ft) in total length (including a long tail). Its color may vary from gray to brown with a yellow underside.
The body is laterally compressed. The snout is prominent, its length more than two times the diameter of the eye. There is 1 preocular, and there are 2 postoculars. There is 1 anterior temporal, and there are 2 posterior temporals. There is no loreal scale, and there are 8-10 upper labials.
The smooth dorsal scales are arranged in 17 rows at midbody.
Ventrals 173-205; subcaudals 150-188, divided (paired). The anal plate is divided in Arizona specimens, but is entire in South American specimens.


O. aeneus is oviparous. Clutch sizes of 3-6 have been published. In Arizona, hatching occurs in September.


C. hotamboeia feeds on amphibians (including rain frogs), lizards, and other snakes (only in captivity).


Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia, commonly known as the herald snake or the red-lipped snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa.


Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia can be identified by its olive green or grey body, multiple white speckles, distinctive black head, and red, yellow, white, or black upper lip. It can grow to an average total length (including tail) of 70 cm (28 in), but may reach up to 1 metre (39 inches) in total length.


The herald snake favors marshy areas in lowland forest, moist savanna, grasslands, and fynbos.


Adult females of C. hotamboeia lay between 6 and 19 eggs in early summer.


The red-lipped snake has been known to live for between 10 and 15 years.


Pituophis catenifer is a species of nonvenomous colubrid snake endemic to  North America. Nine subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominotypical subspecies, Pituophis catenifer catenifer, described here. This snake is often mistaken for the prairie rattlesnake, but can be easily distinguished from a rattlesnake by the lack of black and white banding on its tail and by the shape of its head, which is narrower than a rattlesnake's.


Adults are 36-84 in (91–213 cm) in length. Dorsally, they are yellowish or pale brown, with a series of large, dark brown or black blotches, and smaller, dark spots on the sides. Ventrally, they are yellowish, either uniform or with brown markings.


Wild gopher snakes typically live 12 to 15 years, but the oldest captive recorded lived over 33 years.


Duberria lutrix, or the common slug eater, is a small, ovoviviparous, molluscivorous, non-venomous snake, which is endemic to Africa.


As the name implies, the common slug eater is a specialised predator and feeds on snails and slugs, mostly finding its prey through chemoreception, using its tongue.  It swallows its prey quickly before too much defensive mucus is produced, extracting snails from their shells through the shell opening, or by smashing the shell against a rock while grasping the soft body in its jaws.


Adults can be up to thirty to forty cm (approximately twelve to sixteen inches).
The common slug eater's colour can vary, but they typically have an olive green to brown or russet back, grey flanks, a yellowish or cream belly, and a black, more or less complete, vertebral stripe.


The common slug eater usually gives birth to litters of three to twelve young. However, broods from large females may consist of as many as 22 newborns, each measuring eight to eleven cm (3⅛-4¼ inches). The total combined weight of the young may exceed the weight of the female after giving birth. Birthing season is January and February (late summer in southern Africa).


The rosy wolfsnail is native to the Southeastern United States, including Florida and Georgia. Other species of the genus are native to South and Central America.


The rosy wolfsnail has become an invasive species in many areas outside its native range, including in Hawaii. These predatory snails were originally introduced to Hawaii in an attempt to eliminate another invasive species, the giant African land snail, Achatina fulica. The introduction occurred in 1955, when specimens were collected from Florida and sent to Hawaii. During the same year, 616 individuals were released on Oahu. In 1958 12,000 were taken from Oahu and introduced onto eight other Pacific islands. This did not, however, reduce the populations of A. fulica, but rather caused a decline in native snail populations. The introduced species vigorously attacked the indigenous O'ahu tree snail. As a result, many tree snail species were hunted to extinction within the first year. These predatory snails continue to represent a threat to the local snail fauna.
Of all known mollusk extinctions since 1500, about 70% are from islands, and an estimated one-third of these were caused by introduced E. rosea. These prey snails were at an increased risk of predation-caused extinction because of their extremely low reproduction rates. The rosy wolfsnail has caused the extinction of an estimated eight native snail species in Hawaii. Due to this, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has placed the rosy wolfsnail on the list of the top 100 worst invasive alien species in the world.


Euglandina rosea, the rosy wolfsnail or cannibal snail, is a species of medium-sized to large predatory air-breathing land snail, a carnivorous terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Spiraxidae.
This species is a fast and voracious predator, hunting and eating other snails and slugs. The rosy wolfsnail was introduced into Hawaii in 1955 as a biological control for the invasive African land snail, Lissachatina fulica. This snail is responsible for the extinction of an estimated eight native snail species in Hawaii. This has caused the snail to be added to the IUCN’s top 100 most invasive species.


This species is found naturally in the Southern United States, usually in hardwood forests and urban gardens. It is a fast and voracious predator, hunting and eating other snails and slugs. The smaller prey species are ingested whole or sucked out of their shells. This gives it the nickname "the cannibal snail". Rosy wolfsnails use slime trails to track their prey and potential mates, resulting in rosy wolfsnails following these trails more than 80% of the time they are alive. The rosy wolfsnail prefers to consume smaller snails because these are quicker and easier to eat.
The rosy wolfsnail is specialized for carnivory, its buccal mass being totally contained within a beak-like rostrum that can be extended, thus allowing the toothed radula to be ejected past the mouth and into the snail's prey. The radula is enlarged and has teeth specialized into elongated cones.
The four main mammalian predators for the rosy wolfsnail are rats, tenrecs, pigs, and mongooses. The rats consume the snail by chewing the top of the shell off. The tenrecs crack the shell into large pieces. The pigs have a tendency to crush the shell completely. The mongooses attack the body of the snail. Cannibalism among adults has also been seen in the rosy wolfsnail. However, this has only been observed in captive populations and appears to be a rare occurrence.
Diseases affect the survival of the rosy wolfsnail, as well. One disease known to affect the snail is caused by the pseudomonad bacterium Aeromonas hydrophila. Infection occurs by ingesting the bacteria, if they contaminate the snail's food, or by contact with another individual that is infected. This causes reduced digestive function, resulting in emaciation even when food is abundant. This finally results in a slow death by starvation.
The rosy wolf snail is a hermaphrodite and is oviparous. The courtship rituals for the snail begin with one following the trail of another snail. The pursuing snail then mounts the rear side of the shell of the snail it was following. Following this mounting, a head-waving display ensues, where the pursuing snail vigorously shakes its head for 15 minutes. This ultimately ends with a short period of inactivity, where the mounted snail turns its head to face its own shell. Following this, copulation occurs, with the one snail still mounted on the shell of the other, the two heads are brought together, and then twisted around each other's necks, enabling genital contact. This copulation then lasts up to four hours. An adult snail lays 25–35 eggs in a shallow pocket of soil and the eggs hatch after 30–40 days.
The snail has been known to go into hibernation during winter and emerge in April/May.


The rosy wolfsnail lives around 24 months. The snail takes 30–40 days to hatch and is then considered young (before sexual maturity). Sexual maturity begins between 4 and 16 months after hatching.  The snail is relatively fast moving at about 8 mm/s. The snail has a light grey or brown body, with its lower tentacles being long and almost touching the ground. The shell has usual dimensions of 76 mm long and 27.5 mm in diameter. The shape of the shell tapers to a point at both ends (fusiform) with a narrow oval- to crescent-shaped opening and a shortened axis of the spiral shell near the opening (truncated columella). The shell has a brownish pink color. The full-grown adult snail ranges in size from 7–10 cm in length.


Megathura crenulata is a northeastern Pacific Ocean species of limpet in the family Fissurellidae known commonly as the great keyhole limpet or giant keyhole limpet. Megathura is a monotypic genus, in other words, this is the only species in that genus. This species occurs along the rocky coast of western North America, its distribution extending from Southern California to the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. It is found in the intertidal zone and in the sea up to a depth of 33 meters.


This species consumes a varied diet of plant, animal, protist, and algal material. It has been noted to consume filamentous cyanobacteria, diatoms, brown and red algaes such as seaweeds, seagrass, forams, hydrozoans, bryozoans, nematodes, bivalves, gastropods, crustaceans, and tunicates. The larger part of its diet is composed of brown and red algae, tunicates, hydrozoans of the genus Eudendrium and bryozoans of the genus Crisia.
M. crenulata has been used for experimental studies on gamete agglutination. Its blood contains a hemocyanin that appears blue due to its copper content. This protein carries oxygen as hemoglobin does in vertebrates. Unlike hemoglobin, the hemocyanin is not bound to cells but is simply dissolved in the hemolymph, the fluid part of the blood.


Keyhole limpet hemocyanin from Megathura crenulata is used as vaccine carrier protein.  Keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) is a copper containing respiratory protein, similar to hemoglobin in humans.  KLH is a large protein that acts as the hapten carrier part of the vaccine component, and is so far thought to be non-toxic.   The major potential use of KLH is for bladder carcinoma by stimulating a specific immune response, but there are many other medical uses such as stress assessment, understanding inflammatory conditions, and treating drug addiction.  Vaccines and other KLH uses are in the research or trial phases.  A liter of blood from a keyhole limpet will produce 20 grams of protein, which can be worth as much as $100,000.


This marine species occurs wherever brown seaweeds grow. It is widely distributed : the Baltic Sea, in European waters from Norway down to Southern Spain, in the Mediterranean Sea, in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean along the Gulf of Maine.


The maximum recorded shell length is 13.5 mm.


This species can be found in the littoral and sublittoral zone on rocky shores and piers, usually on brown algae of the genus Fucus. Minimum recorded depth is 0 m. Maximum recorded depth is 110 m. The habitat may define its color. On sheltered shores it has a lighter and uniform color (yellow, brown, orange or olive green). On exposed shores its color is darker and chequered.


M. ostrina is native to the  northeastern Pacific Ocean. Its range extends down the western coast of North America from the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, to Cayucos, California. It is found in the intertidal zone on rocky coasts, often in the vicinity of mussel beds, and particularly in wave-exposed positions.


Like the other members of its family, this dogwinkle is a predator. Each individual has its own food preferences, but the population as a whole feeds predominantly on mussels and barnacles (Balanus glandula), but sometimes on periwinkles (Littorina sitkana and Littorina planaxis), or limpets (Collisella scabra). The bay mussel (Mytilus trossulus) is usually preferred as prey over the California mussel (Mytilus californianus). Having selected its prey, the dogwinkle drills into the shell with its radula, injects digestive enzymes which liquefy the tissues, and sucks out the contents.
The dogwinkle is itself eaten by the purple sea star (Pisaster ochraceus) and the red rock crab (Cancer productus). It lays its eggs in clusters of stalked capsules, known as "sea oats", which are attached to rocks high up in the intertidal zone. Although there are around 550 eggs in each capsule, most of the eggs are infertile and are consumed by the developing juveniles, 10 to 20 of which hatch from the capsule after three or four months, without an intermediate larval stage.


This dogwinkle has a robust shell with three indistinct whorls. It can be 4 cm (1.6 in) in length, but a more typical length is 3 cm (1.2 in) or less; the aperture is less than half the diameter of the shell and can be closed by a brown, horny operculum. The exterior of the shell is spirally ridged, often with heavy ridges alternating with more delicate ones. The heavy ridges may bear coarse nodules, but in more exposed locations these, and the ridges themselves, may be partially smoothed. The ridges tend to be pale in color and the furrows between them dark, typically brown, gray, black, orange or yellow. The interior of the shell is purple.


This species is endemic to New Zealand. It is common to abundant in rocky intertidal areas, where it is the only trochid found on open rock surfaces, in sheltered areas and semi-exposed coasts. In harbours or estuaries it often occurs with D. subrostrata on hard packed mud among empty bivalve shells.


The size of the shell varies between 15 mm and 30 mm. The thick, solid, imperforate shell has a depressed conical shape. It is blackish, dotted upon the ribs with yellow or white. The conic spire is more or less depressed with an acute apex. The five whorls are spirally strongly ridged. The ridges are nodulous and number three on the penultimate whorl. The interstices are spirally striate. The body whorl is depressed, angulate at the periphery, and concentrically lirate below. The lirae are coarsely granulose, about 5 in number. The aperture is very oblique. The outer lip is edged with blackish, then nacreous, and lined with opaque white, the thickening slightly notched at the place of the periphery. The oblique columella is nearly straight, flat, opaque white and backed by nacreous.
Animal: The foot is yellow below, with a brown stripe round the contour, black on the sides, with touches of yellowish-white behind; filaments greenish; mouth yellowish.


This species is a familiar part of the marine fauna of the Northern Atlantic and is found on the shores of the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Norway, Iceland, various other northwest European countries, some Arctic islands, and North America as far south as New Jersey. They prefer colder temperatures, and cannot survive at temperatures above 29 °C.


This species of whelk feeds on live bivalves, and are, in turn, preyed upon by several fish (cod, dogfish, etc.) and crustaceans. They may benefit from seastar feeding, by eating the extracted bivalve remains abandoned by the seastar.


Larval stages of Stephanostomum baccatum were found in the digestive gland of B. undatum.


This species' solid, ovate-conical, ventricose shell is very pale, white, yellowish or reddish. In life, the shell is covered in a bright, yellowish-brown periostracum. The spire contains seven or eight whorls. These are convex and crossed by oblique folds, thick and waved. The shell surface has a sculpture of vertical, wavy folds (hence the name undatum, which means wavy). The wavy folds are crossed by numerous incised, very prominent spiral lines, some of which are paired. The white and very large aperture of the shell is broadly oval and tapers to a deeply notched siphonal canal. The outer lip is arched.
The maximum height of the shell is 10 cm and the maximum width is 6 cm. The animal emits a thin and copious slime.
This species is very variable in size, and also in its form, which is more or less inflated. In many cases the oblique folds are not apparent, and sometimes the transverse striae have wholly disappeared. The epidermis is of a deep brown. It varies also in its coloring, which in some specimens is of a bright yellow or violet, surrounded with one or several reddish bands.


This species is mainly found on soft bottoms in the sublittoral zone, and occasionally on the littoral fringe, where it is sometimes found alive at low tide. It does not adapt well to life in the intertidal zone, due to its intolerance for low salinities. If exposed to air, it may crawl from its shell, risking desiccation.


Neverita lewisii lives in the Eastern Pacific, from British Columbia to northern Baja California, Mexico.


Neverita lewisii feeds mainly on bivalve molluscs by drilling a hole in the shell with its radula and feeding on the organism's soft flesh.


The shell of this species can grow to 14 centimetres (5.5 in) across, the largest of the moon snails. It has  an extremely large foot, which when the snail is active, is extended up over the shell and mantle cavity.  Part of the propodium contains a black-tipped siphon which leads water into the mantle cavity.  The cephalic tentacles, located on its head, are usually visible above the propodium.
When the animal retracts its soft parts into the shell, a lot of water is expelled, thus it is possible to close the shell with its tight-fitting operculum.


This snail is found intertidally and at depths of up to 180 metres (590 ft), usually ploughing through the substrate looking for prey.


Octopus tetricus, the gloomy octopus or the common Sydney octopus, is a species of octopus from the subtropical waters of eastern Australia and New Zealand. O. tetricus belongs to the Octopus vulgaris species group and is a commercially prized species. All species within the O. vulgaris group are similar in morphology. The English translation of O. tetricus (Latin) is 'the gloomy octopus'.


Octopus tetricus is primarily a nocturnal feeder which uses its sharp beak to feed on crustaceans and molluscs, for example sea snails and bivalves. It has also been recorded as being cannibalistic.
Two areas in Jervis Bay where they congregate have been dubbed Octopolis and Octlantis, containing a large area of discarded shells where ten or more octopuses den and mate.


Octopus tetricus occurs in the intertidal zone along rocky shores and in the ocean and it has been suggested that this species is associated more commonly with rocky reefs during the breeding season, although they frequent areas of the sea bed with soft-sediments for much of their life. O. tetricus alter their habitats by digging out dens and using remains from prey, including but not limited to shells. It is very common for scallop beds to be found in close proximity to the excavated dens. The scallops serve as a food source and their shells are part of the shell beds built. This species of octopus is considered to be an ecosystem engineer. This means that the way they create their habitats influences and builds an ecosystem around their dwellings. The shell beds that are created around the excavated dens attract hermit crabs and fish due to the various hiding places created. Small fish and other small prey species attract larger species and the cycle builds, creating an ecosystem. A solid object can serve as a good den that can also be the start of a new settlement for O. tetricus. Studies show that O. tetricus has higher populations in patch reef habitats than broken reef habitats, and were scarcely found on flat reefs. Adult O. tetricus were also found to occupy coastal reefs in the summer and then disappear around the second week of April, which is the second week of autumn in Australia. Shelters serve a vital role in octopus ecology. The species is generally known to be solitary, but complex social behaviours have been observed by scientists.


This species is the most widespread of all the Liguus. It occurs in the Caribbean Area (South Florida. Florida Keys, North coast of Cuba, Isle of Pines).


Shells of Liguus fasciatus can reach a size of 42–68 millimetres (1.7–2.7 in). These polished shining shells, ranging from white to almost black, have whorls banded with many colors (chestnut, orange, yellow pink or green).
These tree snails feed on fungus and algae scraped from the bark of the host plants (mainly wild tamarind (Lysiloma latisiliquum), pigeon plum (Coccoloba diversifolia) and Myrsine species). They can be found mainly from May through September, but they are active throughout the year.


These tree snails can be found in southern Florida on hammocks, tropical forest and shrubs habitats that are slightly higher in elevation than the surrounding area.


Cantareus apertus is native to Europe primarily near the Mediterranean Sea, and also North Africa.
Distribution of Cantareus apertus include:
France west of Rhone estuary It is protected in France, must not be collected for commercial purposes.
Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea
Italy, Italian peninsula to Liguria and Romagna
Ionian islands
Central Greece
Aegean Islands
Cyprus (only one locality)
Mediterranean north Africa
In Salento it is known as municeḍḍe and in Sicily as attuppateḍḍu.
It has also been introduced to other areas:
It has become established in California and Louisiana.
Western Australia – nonindegenous
This species is already established in the United States, and is considered to represent a potentially serious threat as a pest, an invasive species which could negatively affect agriculture, natural ecosystems, human health or commerce. Therefore, it has been suggested that this species be given top national quarantine significance in the USA.


The shell has periostracum which is olive green in colour. The last whorl is much larger than the others.
The width of the shell is 22–28 mm.; the height of the shell is also 22–28 mm.


Cantareus apertus inhabits Mediterranean shrublands, near cultivated fields, gardens. In Gavdos (Greece) also in woodland spreading on recently abandoned cultivated fields, more rarely in natural habitats.
In Crete this species is active for 3–4 months after the first rainfalls in October. It aestivates buried relatively deep in the soil. In hot, dry weather, it burrows three to six inches into the ground and becomes dormant until rain softens the soil. A white convex epiphragm is created for aestivation.
This species of snail makes and uses love darts.


Fissurella volcano, commonly named the volcano limpet or volcano keyhole limpet, is a species of small to medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Fissurellidae, the keyhole limpets. Like other members of the keyhole limpet family, the volcano limpet is not considered a "true" limpet.
Adults measure up to approximately 2.5-4.1 cm with a keyhole-shaped pore on the apex of its conical shell.  They feed on benthic microalgae and potentially some macroalgal, or seaweed, fronds.
This species occurs in the Western Pacific Ocean, where it is found in the intertidal zone on the underside of rocks. The distribution is California and Baja California.


Found from Alaska to San Diego, California.


This snail is found frequently on rocks in the low intertidal zone and in the shallow subtidal zone on large kelp, especially the giant kelp Macrocystis.  Calliostoma eats a variety of items including the kelp it lives on as well as small sessile organisms and other material that live on rocks or kelp surfaces, including bryozoans, hydroids, diatoms, and detritus.
This snail shows a remarkable range of behavioral reactions to other animals.  Snails displayed a flight response with movement rates up to 10 cm/min, often accompanied by shell twisting, between 70% and 100% of the time after contact with the following predatory seastars: Leptasterias hexactis, Pycnopodia helianthoides, Pisaster ochraceus, and Evasterias troscheli.  Snails either withdrew into their shells, turned away, or fled after contact with the subtidal crab Cancer oregonensis.  C. ligatum showed only a weak response to contact with predatory snails, but Fusitriton oregonensis elicited the strongest response of any snail tested.  Contact with F. oregonensis caused about half of the test subjects to exhibit a flight response while others either bit the predator with their radula, simply turned away, or showed no response.
C. ligatum frequently uses its radula to rasp on, i.e., bite, its non-predators.  C.ligatum bit the non-predatory seastar Henricia leviuscula every time they came into contact with each other.  After making initial contact the snail reared up, extended its head forward and visibly rasped the upper body wall of H. leviuscula with its radula.  This caused the sea star to move off.  C. ligatum similarly uses its radula to bite, i.e., rasp, on the seastars Solaster stimpsoni about 60% of the time, and Dermasterias imbricata about 40% of the time.  C. ligatum also routinely bit (rasped) the snails Ceratostoma foliatum, Searlesia dira and Amphissa columbiana which caused these snails to move away from C. ligatum.


The conical, solid shell has well-rounded globose whorls with six to eight smooth spiral cords per whorl and no umbilicus. Its base is flattened. The surface is encircled by numerous spiral smooth riblets, their interstices closely finely obliquely striate. There are usually seven to nine riblets on the penultimate whorl, about nine on the base. The spire is conic. The apex is acute. The sutures are impressed. There are about seven, convex whorls. The body whorl is rounded (or a trifle angled) around the lower part, slightly convex beneath. The oblique aperture is rounded. The outer lip is fluted within, with a beveled opaque white submargin. The throat is pearly and iridescent;. The simple columella is arcuate.
The base color is chocolate brown to mauve with light tan raised cords, and the aperture is pearly white. The apex is darked and usually purple.
The shell is relatively heavy for its size, and its length and width are roughly equal.  Length and width up to 24 mm.


This species is found throughout the tropical and sub-tropical Indo-Pacific area.


Doriprismatica atromarginata feeds on sponges and has been seen feeding on the species Hyatella intestinalis.  The species is capable of obtaining metabolites from its food source, and uses them to protect itself against predators.


Doriprismatica atromarginata ranges in color from creamy-white through yellow to pale brown. It typically has a black-lined edge running down the outside of a very folded mantle and black rhinophore clubs. The frilly mantle sometimes appears to move like a wave as the animal crawls along. It can reach a total length of at least 60 mm. This species is very similar in appearance to Doriprismatica sibogae and Doriprismatica plumbea, although Doriprismatica atromarginata is by far the more common and is not quite as deep yellow in colour as the other species.


Chiton glaucus, common name the green chiton or the blue green chiton, is a species of chiton, a marine polyplacophoran mollusk in the family Chitonidae, the typical chitons. It is the most common chiton species in New Zealand. Chiton glaucus is part of a very primitive group of mollusc with evidence of being present in up to 80 million years of the fossil record.


Chiton glaucus show clear daily patterns of activity; they remain hidden during the day to escape visual predators and then during the night they travel to the tops of the rock to feed on the algae that has grown there since the previous night.
According to research done by Robert Creese who analysed the contents in the gut of C. glaucus it was found that the main component of its diet is that of coralline algae. Other research suggests a broader range of organisms within its diet including encrusting organisms (sponges, bryozans etc.) and on diatoms and algae in a grazing type method.


They have a variety of predators both invertebrate and vertebrate including sea stars, crabs, sea snails, birds, and fish. One of the main predators of green chiton are oystercatchers. All species of New Zealand oystercatchers prey on chiton from rocky shores. The birds have adopted a technique where they first, strike a sharp angled blow on the shell plates and if this does not dislodge the organism then the bird will apply pressure on the margin between the foot and the rock surface and use a scissor-like motion to release the grip. This is done until the organism is separated from the surface, and after the valves are taken off by the oystercatcher the chiton is eaten in one piece.
Many species of chiton are susceptible to the parasite Minchinia chitonis. This releases spores into all tissue types of the chiton. It is unknown how, but the parasite is able to travel through the digestive tract and be excreted to prey on other chiton individuals.


Within New Zealand, Chiton glaucus is found on the North, South and Stewart Islands, as well as the Chatham Islands. It is also present in Tasmania, becoming very common in estuaries. It is thought to have been introduced by shipping activity between Australia and New Zealand.
Chiton glaucus are found on rocky substrates with rocky tide pools forming a main portion of their habitat. Chiton glaucus are found in intertidal or subtidal zones in a broad range of environments including shores open to the elements to sheltered estuarine sites. In estuarine sites Chiton glaucus are found under bivalve shells and stones, particularly cockles as to avoid visual predators during daylight hours. This is compared to being found on stones and cobbles in more exposed areas. This chiton is able to survive in muddy areas, particularly estuaries. Surprisingly it is also able to live in areas were the substrate is semi-polluted.


Recent analysis of the ultra structural and mechanical properties of the teeth present in that of Chiton glaucus and other organisms in the class Polyplacophora, one of the seven classes of mollusks, have shown to exhibit teeth of the most hardness and stiffness of any biomaterials known to date. This translates to as much as three times as hard as human enamel and the carbonate based shells of other mollusks. They achieve this feat through arranging a hard shell of organic incased and highly orientated magnetite rods that surround a soft core of organic rich iron phosphate in such a way that results in a tooth that is tough and wear resistant. By microscopically and spectroscopically analysing ultra structural features to figure out the structure/mechanical property relationships we can further our understanding relating to the architecture within the chiton tooth. The result of this would be wear resistant materials which could be developed for use in machines and tools, or coatings on medical implants and equipment.
Chiton living on open coastlines are brighter in colour. They have richer greens, yellows and blues, compared to those found in estuaries.


This species occurs in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Gulf of California. Its range is from Monterey, California to Baja California.
Navanax  inermis can commonly be found on rocky intertidal regions and subtidal mudflats.


Navanax inermis is a voracious carnivorous predator. Common prey items include other sea slugs, like bubble snails and nudibranchs, and small fish. As N. inermis lacks visual perception, it finds prey by using its chemoreceptors to follow the slime trails of other organisms.


The body of N. inermis can be tan, black, or purple, with yellowish streaks. Yellow or orange streaks and blue dots are visible on the margins. It has two large parapodial folds that run the length of either side of the body, and almost touch at the midsection. This species possesses a small internal shell. Individuals are typically between 2.5 and 10 inches in length.
Navanax  inermis does not possess a radula or organs associated with vision.


Pteraeolidia ianthina, one of the most common aeolids found, is often called a "blue dragon" by Eastern Australian divers because of its close resemblance to a Chinese dragon. It is one of the most common aeolid nudibranchs found in Eastern Australia, and can inflict a painful sting to humans.
The body color of this species is translucent tan, but the cerata, which vary from dark purple to lavender to golden brown, give the nudibranch most of its distinct color. Green specimens are not uncommon.
The slug is elongated (7 cm (2.8 in)) with many clusters of medium-large sized cerata along the length of the body. The fat rhinophores and the long cephalic tentacles have at least two dark purple bands that stand out. The tips of the cerata contain nematocysts.
Algal zooxanthellae of the genus Symbiodinium derived from the food of these animals continue to photosynthesise inside the body and give rise to brown and green pigments. Symbiodinium, together with the nematocysts, are presumed to be derived from coelenterate prey. These Symbiodinium occur within vacuoles in host cells derived from the endoderm.
Young specimens are much shorter, have fewer cerata, and are often mistaken for other nudibranch species.


This sea slug feeds on hydroids which contain Symbiodinium, microscopic dinoflagellates that are photosynthetic. The microscopic Symbiodinium acquired from the hydroids are 'farmed' in the sea slug's digestive diverticula, where the Symbiodinium photosynthesizes sugars to be used by the slug. The slug gains enough photosythetically derived sugars to sustain it without feeding.


Tegula brunnea, common name the brown turban snail, is a species of medium-sized sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Tegulidae, .
This is an Eastern Pacific Ocean species which was previously known as Chlorostoma brunnea.


The size of the shell varies between 19 mm and 45 mm. The solid, imperforate shell has a conical shape. It is russet-yellow, brown, orange-colored or deep crimson. The spire is conic. The sutures are deeply impressed. The about seven whorls are convex, smooth, and obliquely lightly striate. The body whorl sometimes is obsoletely undulated or plicate below the suture. The base of the shell is depressed and deeply concave in the center. The aperture is very oblique. The columella has one or two teeth near the base. The umbilical callus is white. The place of the umbilicus is deeply excavated. The relative altitude and the size are extremely variable.


This nudibranch has a wide distribution, mostly in colder intertidal waters to a depth of about 20 m. It has been found  in the North Atlantic and the North Sea from Britain and France to the Norwegian Sea, Iceland and Greenland; along the North American coast as far south as Connecticut. It has also been recorded in the North Pacific in the Bering Sea, and from Alaska south to northern California.
These sea slugs sometimes occur in abundant numbers during breeding time, swarming with over 1,000 individuals per square metre, as has been observed on numerous occasions. These swarms are all oriented in the same direction, determined by the flow of the tide. They follow each other at the same speed, forming columns, in different close-knitted rows.


Onchidoris bilamellata feeds mainly on acorn barnacles in the genera Elminius and Balanus. It uses its rachidian tooth to chew away at the top plates of the barnacles and then sucks out the soft body.


The maximum recorded body length is 38 mm. They mostly show an abundant rusty brown pigment. But some individuals display a mixed pattern of colours, from a lighter brown colour to dark brown. Even fewer individuals are white, with brown color only in the rhinophores and the gills. A rare few are completely white, and yet they are not albinos, as their eyes are pigmented.
Onchidoris bilamellata has a broadly oval shape with its back covered with short, knobby papillae. Their antennae are comblike. The gills are arranged in two half rings on the back at the rear end and consist of 16 to 32 simple featherlike plumes.
The branchial ganglia are fused in Onchidoris bilamellata.


The yellow slug is common in Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland as well as most of southern and western Europe. It has been accidentally introduced in many other parts of the world.
Great Britain
Ireland
Ukraine
China
and other areas


Parasites of Limacus flavus include the nematode Angiostoma spiridonovi.


This slug has a yellow body with grey mottling, and pale blue tentacles. When extended, the body length can be 7.5 to 10 cm (3.0 to 3.9 in).


This species is strongly associated with human habitation, and is usually found in damp areas such as cellars, kitchens, and gardens or under stones. Generally speaking it is only seen at night, because it is nocturnal. Thus often it goes unnoticed and people are unaware of how (relatively) common the species is.
Limacus flavus are inedible to humans. The slugs and other snails are researched and have been found to have a high count of fatty acid composition of phospholipids, including omega 6 and other important fatty acids.


Argopecten irradians, formerly classified as Aequipecten irradians, common names Atlantic bay scallop or bay scallop, is a species of scallop in the family Pectinidae.  An edible saltwater clam, it is native to the northwest Atlantic from Cape Cod to the Gulf of Mexico.


This species lives in Western and Central Europe. It is found in the Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine and Slovakia. It is also found in Great Britain, Ireland, France, Italy, southern Scandinavia, and other countries. Its range includes Turkey.
The species has been introduced to North America where it was first found in 1937 and now is known from six Canadian provinces (British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador) and 16 states, as well as the District of Columbia, in the United States.  It does not appear to have the capability to become an invasive pest species in North America, as it lives in leaf litter and forms colonies where the individuals do not tend to spread widely.


The shells of Discus rotundatus in the adult stage measure 5.7–7 millimetres (0.22–0.28 in) in diameter and 2.4–6 millimetres (0.094–0.236 in) in height. Shells are reddish brown with darker cross bands, flat and densely ribbed. The umbilicus is quite wide, reaching about 1/3 of the shell diameter.
Among the species of Discus in Europe and North America, Discus rotundatus is recognized by the alternating pattern of reddish brown spots, tight coiling of the whorls and broad and shallow umbilicus.
The body of this gastropod is bluish black on the upperside, while the lower side is greyish white. They mainly feed on plant debris, humus, algae and fungi.


These gastropods live in forests and humid shady places, in dead wood logs, under stones, on humus and in soil litter, sometimes in colonies, at an elevation of 0–2,100 metres (0–6,890 ft) above sea level.
They can live both in natural habitats and in environments modified by humans, like gardens.
The species can tolerate substrate which is non-calcareous.


This land snail is endemic to the Pacific Coast of North America from southern Alaska to northern California. At 22 to 36 mm wide, it is the largest land snail species in the state of Washington.


This snail is endemic to the Atlantic coast of North America, from Nova Scotia to Nassau Sound in in Florida.  It has been accidentally introduced with oyster spat to Northern Europe and to the West Coast of North America from California to Washington. They range in areas with salinity and temperature changing seasonally and with the tidal currents.


As indicated by its common name, this predatory snail drills through the shells of living oysters and consumes them. Its surroundings are rocky and shell beds. It inhabits the lower third of the littoral zone, therefore it is sheltered from any waves the ocean produces. It selects its food of choice by the odor of the prey. Once it embraces the barnacle or mussel with its foot, it drills through the shell. It feeds on many different species of invertebrates. A few favorites are the barnacle Balanus balanoides and the mussel Mytilus edulis. Food supply is mainly found in intertidal areas in the Atlantic region. The Atlantic oyster drill finds its food by smell. They are found to be more responsive to living prey than to prey that has been killed recently in a lab. However there is still no preference when it comes to the prey species or age.
Just like any other animal, ecological factors affect the growth of an individual. The type of food, amount of food, and the amount of time given for a species to grow are all important factors. Chloride and sodium, inorganic ions, are some of the major effectors of blood in marine and estuarine invertebrates, including the Atlantic oyster drill.
They range in size, but male and female oyster drills average 24 millimeters and 28 millimeters, respectively. Not only are females longer, but they are also taller than their males. Almost all Atlantic oyster drills reach their largest size after two full growing seasons. About 70% of their size is reached within this time span. In the next four or so years to come, there is little or no increase in size anymore. Unfortunately, there is no protected way to check the sex of these gastropods. Their shell must be crushed in order to see the genitalia using a microscope. Although some females possess a small vestigial formation that may look like a penis, other parts are used to confirm the sex. Finding the egg capsule gland, ovary, and any sperm ingesting glands make it easier to identify the oyster drill as a female.


This species lives from low tide down to a depth of 25 feet. Its surroundings are rocky and shell beds. It inhabits the lower third of the littoral zone, therefore it is sheltered from any waves the ocean produces.


This conch occurs in the Western Atlantic Ocean from North Carolina to Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana, Texas, and the east coast of Mexico.


The shell can be as large as 112 mm (4.4 in).
This species is closely similar to Strombus pugilis, the West Indian fighting conch, which has a more southerly range.  S. alatus shells have less prominent subsutural spines and slightly more projected outer lips.  Some scientists have treated the two as distinct species; others as subspecies.   In an extensive study of the Stromboidea in 2005, Simone provisionally treated these as distinct species, but observed, "no spectacular morphological difference was found [and] all related differences, even those of the genital system, can be regarded as extreme of variation of a single, wide distributed, variable species."


This nudibranch was described from San Diego, California, United States. It has been reported from Northern California, to Punta Eugenia, Mexico. Its distribution overlaps with Hermissenda crassicornis in Northern California and this latter species is found north to Alaska. These two species were routinely treated as a single species during the last 90 years.
The species has also been observed in Bahia de los Angeles, Gulf of California.


This nudibranch feeds on hydroids and other marine organisms such as ascidians and sea anemones. It sometimes attacks other nudibranchs, and will eat smaller specimens of its own species. It is host to the ectoparasites Halicyclops thysanotus Wilson C.B., 1935 and Hemicyclops thysanotus Wilson C.B., 1935.


The species grows to be about 50 mm, or about 2 inches.
This slug has been treated as a model organism and used in studies into classical conditioning, memory consolidation and associative learning, the structure of neural circuits and neural physiology. It has also been used to investigate ultrastructure and anatomy, larval and reproductive ecology, behavioral ecology and pharmacology and toxicology including studies into Beta thymosins. Unfortunately these studies did not differentiate between the three species of Hermissenda.


This sea slug is found in various habitats, including the intertidal zone of rocky shores, but also in bays and estuaries.


The distribution of Zachrysia provisoria includes:
Bahamas
Barbados
Cayman Islands
Cuba
Florida (Brevard, Orange, Broward, Collier, Lee, Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, Monroe, Palm Beach and Pinellas counties)
Guadeloupe.
Jamaica
Nevis
Mustique
Puerto Rico
Saint-Bathelemy.
Saint-Martin/Sint Maarten.
U.S. Virgin Islands
This species is already established in the USA, and is considered to represent a potentially serious threat as  a pest, an invasive species which could negatively affect agriculture, natural ecosystems, human health or commerce. Therefore it has been suggested that this species be given top national quarantine significance in the USA.


Zachrysia provisoria is a polyphagous snail attacking a wide range of agricultural and horticultural plants. Known host plants include Bougainvillea, various citrus species, crepe myrtle, mango and star fruit (carambola). The snails can rasp the bark and epiderm of cuttings of several plants.
This snail is often exported by accident from Florida to other areas and thus poses a quarantine problem for Florida.


The shell is medium-sized (25–30 mm width), globose in shape with 4 to 5 rapidly expanding whorls. The shell is translucent so that the speckled black mantle shows clearly through the shell of the living animal. The shell is usually thick and strong, but in acidic environments it can be thin and fragile. The body whorl is increasing in size more than those of spire. There is no umbilicus. The shell is sculptured with fairly regular, strong, curved axial ribs. Fresh specimens are with rich dark tan covering, sometimes with light brown axial streaks. Older specimens are yellowish brown. The lip and columella is white.
Individuals of Zachrysia provisoria use love darts during mating.
A very similar species of snail is Zachrysia trinitaria (Pfeiffer), from Cuba, which has recently been found in South Florida. Adults of Zachrysia trinitaria can be distinguished from Zachrysia provisoria by their large size, since they are 1.5 to 2.0 times bigger than Zachrysia provisoria.


This species lives among leaf litter and among ornamental plants.


This species was described from Point Pinos, California. It is reported from Point Lena, Juneau, Alaska to Isla Guadalupe, Baja California, Mexico.


Cominella adspersa is endemic to New Zealand and is found along the coast of North Island, northern South Island, and the Chatham Islands.


The length of the shell varies between 25 mm and 75 mm.
The oblong-ovate shell is of a red brown color. It is furrowed throughout its whole extent by regular transverse striae, numerous, pretty near, interwoven by other very fine longitudinal striae. The pointed spire is composed of seven whorls. Each whorl, except the lowest, is adorned with longitudinal tubercles or ribs.  The columella projectis a little above an incipient umbilicus, which penetrates it at the base of the emargination. The ovular aperture is  provided with a callosity upon the left lip, which is of a beautiful reddish color. The pouter lip is arched, plaited upon the internal edge as often as there are striae externally.


Pyganodon grandis, the giant floater, is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. This species is fast-growing, large, and has a short lifespan.
This species is native to the United States and southeastern Canada.
Original description (Say 1829): "Shell very large, subovate; disk unequally wrinkled and undulated transversely, dark yellowish brown; umbo elevated; beak slightly elevated, with generally, two or three small sinuous, acute undulations; hinge margin slightly arquated, sometimes nearly rectilinear, somewhat angulated at its anterior termination, thence the edge descends by a nearly rectilinear, or slightly concave line to the anterior margin, which is considerably narrowed; sinus of the hinge margin concave; posterior margin widely rounded; within white margined, particularly before, with dusky."


The indigenous distribution of this western Atlantic species is from Nova Scotia to Georgia in the United States.
The nonindigenous distribution includes the West Coast of the United States.


This species is a detritus feeder, eating whatever is found in the film on top of the mud where it lives, including many microscopic marine plants.


This species has a small shell with a slightly rough exterior, because the surface has intersecting weak spiral and axial ribs. The shell has an oval aperture with a small notch or siphonal canal at the anterior end. The aperture has a smooth inner lip with a partial shield, and the outer lip is thin and smooth.
The exterior of the shell is chalky white, but it is covered by a very dark brown, closely adhering periostracum, except in areas of the shell where the periostracum has been eroded. The apex of the shell is almost always eroded, and the shell is often quite damaged by the acidic properties of the mud in which the animal lives.
The maximum shell length is a little more than one inch, or about 28 mm.


This snail is very common on mud flats in the intertidal and shallow subtidal zones, in sounds and inlets.


These sea snails live in subtidal waters on soft sediments. Alcithoe arabica are able to move quite quickly on the soft substrate. They feed on bivalves that they smother using their large foot. The rounded, thin shelled eggs of this species are laid on stones or other shells.


Shells of Alcithoe arabica can reach a height of 75–225 millimetres (3.0–8.9 in) and a width of 88 mm. These shells are usually large, solid, fusiform, with relatively weak tubercles on the shoulder of the body whorl. The shell aperture is high with a thickened, rounded  outer lip. The external surface is yellowish-white with chestnut zig-zac markings, forming five bands on the body whorl. These zig-zag markings were thought to resemble Arabic writing, giving rise to the name of the species.
There is no operculum in A. arabica. Individuals have a large grey to brown foot, flecked with purple and orange markings.


Black turban snails are found along the Pacific coast of North America from British Columbia to Baja California, where they are one of the most abundant snail species. Studies have recorded densities of up to 1,400 individuals per m² near Monterey, California. Local densities are influenced by many factors, including abundance of food, predators, and suitable habitat.
This species inhabits rocky intertidal zones, between low and high tide lines. Juveniles are found mostly under rocks and among coarse sands. Empty black turban snail shells are often utilized by another common intertidal animal, the hermit crab.


Tegula funebralis is primarily herbivorous. Food for T. funebralis can be categorized as either rock encrusting algae, macroscopic algae, or organic detritus. Studies into the macroscopic algal preferences of T. funebralis revealed a strong preference for Nereocystis luetkana and Macrocystis integrifolia. Macroscopic algae species preferred by T. funebralis are similar in that they are non-calcareous, non-filamentous, and softer in comparison to other macroscopic algae in the region. These species do not grow in the intertidal, so they are only available to T. funebralis as drift material.


Predators of T. funebralis include sea stars, crabs, octopuses, sea gulls, and sea otters. Experiments showed that T. funebralis will flee if it detects a predator nearby, and if already in motion, can increase its speed from 2–3 cm per minute to around 8 cm per minute. If the anterior portion of T. funebralis is touched by a predator, it can raise the front of the foot and make a 90° turn to escape. Additionally, if T. funebralis detects a predator while on a steep surface, it can detach itself and roll down the incline.


Most adults have shells which are 20 to 50 mm (or about an inch, to an inch and three quarters) in diameter. Adults weigh anywhere from 2 to 20 grams. Individuals can live anywhere from 7 to 30 years; studies have shown that individuals inhabiting the more northern portions of the organism's range are larger and live longer on average than organisms inhabiting the southern portions.
In 1971, a new sense organ was discovered in this marine snail. Chemoreceptor organs were found near the base on the border of the leaflets of the ctenidium (comb-like respiratory gills), one on each leaflet. They form a light swelling near the base of the leaflet with a pocket lying within the swelling. Together they are termed a "bursicle".


This is a well known species which has been reported on the Pacific Ocean coast of North, Central and South America from Point Craven, Alaska to the Gulf of California, Panama, Chile and Argentina.


Found intertidally under boulders and in shallow water, normally feeding on the sponge Ophlitaspongia pennata.


Pomacea canaliculata, commonly known as the golden apple snail or the channeled apple snail, is a species of large freshwater snail with gills and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusc in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails.
South American in origin, this species is considered to be in the top 100 of the "World's Worst Invasive Alien Species". It is also ranked as the 40th worst alien species in Europe and the worst alien species of gastropod in Europe.


Pomacea canaliculata is extremely polyphagous, feeding on vegetal (primarily macrophytophagous, feeding on floating or submersed higher plants), detrital, and animal matter. Diet may vary with age, with younger smaller individuals feeding on algae and detritus, and older, bigger (15 millimetres (19⁄32 in) and above) individuals later shifting to higher plants.
This species negatively impacts rice and taro agriculture worldwide where it has been introduced.


The snail kite, Rostrhamus sociabilis, is a predator of this species in South America. The fire ant, Solenopsis geminata, has also been observed to prey upon this species.


Approximately 1% of the Pomacea canaliculata on sale on local markets in Dali City, Yunnan, China were found to be infected with pathogenic Angiostrongylus cantonensis in 2009.


The shells of these applesnails are globular in shape. Normal coloration typically includes bands of brown, black, and yellowish-tan; color patterns are extremely variable. Albino and gold color variations exist.
The size of the shell is up to 150 millimetres (6 in) in length.


This nudibranch lives in the eastern Pacific Ocean, from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to Baja California, Mexico. It also lives in Japan.


Triopha maculata can, on rare occasions, grow as large as 180 mm (a little more than 7 inches) but usually the maximum length is 50 mm (about 2 inches.)
The color can be a very pale and translucent yellow, or it can be a darker yellow, orange, red, and even dark brown. There are always raised whitish spots, hence the name maculata, meaning spotted.


Megastraea undosa, common name the wavy turban snail, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Turbinidae, the turban snails. This species is native to the coast of California.


One of the largest gastropod shells found on the Southern California coast, this species varies between 40 mm and 145 mm. The shell lacks an umbilicus, and has a turbinate-conical shape.   Like other shells of the family turbinidae it is composed of a thick inner nacreous layer, covered by a thinner porcellanous layer.  In this species both are covered by a dark brown shaggy periostracum in life.  The periphery of the shell forms a twisted ridge at the outer edge of each whorl. Each whorl also has regular, coarsely sculpted rows of fine knobs and folds. The base is marked with several spiral cords concentric to the arcuated columella which has a pearly groove.  The unusual operculum has four strong ridges on its outer side decorated with hard shelly bristles that radiate in a curvilinear fashion from its pointed edge.


This large snail inhabits rocky shores in shallow waters, generally protected areas below the low tide level.


This is a common western Atlantic species. It is found from Massachusetts and other parts of New England, south to Florida and other states on the Gulf of Mexico, south to Honduras.


The shark eye (like all moon snails) is predatory, feeding mainly on bivalves buried in the sand. This snail drills a neat "countersunk" circular hole through the shell of its prey species, and then feeds on the soft tissue within.


The shell has a flattened globular shape, and reaches about 88 to 90 millimetres (3.5 to 3.5 in) in maximum dimension. The color of the shell is variable, but is often a greyish brown. The central apex of the shell is often a dark blue in fresh shells, which can make the shell somewhat resemble an eye. On the underside, there is a large brown callus which partly blocks the umbilicus of the shell.
The maximum recorded shell length is 82 mm.


This moon snail is found on sandy shores just below the low tide line. In most of its range, the empty shell is very commonly washed up on beaches, as also is the operculum and the sand collar.
The minimum recorded depth for this species is 0 m; the maximum recorded depth is 58 m.


This species of nudibranch is found in the central area of the Indo-Pacific region from Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines to the Marshall Islands.


This nudibranch feeds on the sponge Petrosaspongia sp.


Chromodoris annae can reach a maximum size of 5 cm length.
The body is elongate with a foot which is distinct from the upper body by a skirt like mantle hiding partially the foot.
The branched gills and the rhinophores are orange to yellow.
The main background color is bluish, the intensity of the latter varying from blue-grey to intense blue, slightly speckled by tiny black spots.
The blue dorsal side and the foot are bordered with a black line which can be discontinuous depending on the specimen. A black dash between the rhinophores distinguishes this species from similar species like Chromodoris elisabethina and Chromodoris westraliensis.
The mantle edge and the foot are bordered with white and orange to yellow lines in which the width and the color intensity can vary greatly from a specimen to another.


This species of polycerid nudibranch was described from California.


Polycera atra feeds on the bryozoan Bugula.


Mopalia muscosa, the mossy chiton, is a species of chiton, a polyplacophoran, an eight-plated marine mollusk. It is a northeastern Pacific species which occurs from British Columbia, Canada, to Baja California Mexico.
This species is found in the middle and lower intertidal zone on exposed rocky shores. Mopalia muscosa can be 40 to 55 mm (1.6 to 2.2 in) in length. Mossy chitons are often covered by algae, barnacles, and limpets. The chiton's girdle is covered with coarse hair-like bristles or "setae".The visible exterior of the chiton's eight shell plates are typically a drab brown or grey-green, however on the underside the shell plates have a vibrant turquoise blue color. Some mossy chitons are biofluorescent mainly around the girdle and may show a bright glowing green color under ultra-violet or blue light. Mossy chitons typically move about at night or when covered by a high tide in order to graze on the red and green algae of which their diet consists. Young chitons have a planktonic stage and later metamorphose and settle on the bottom as adults.