This is the “flamingo tongue snail,” one of the most brightly colored snails on the reefs of the South Atlantic. It used to be a common sight, but in recent years has been disappearing, either because ...

While not harmful to humans, the moon snail is a predator that uses slow and methodical processes to consume clams and other snails.

The snail’s shell diameter averages about 22 to 30 millimeters (.87 to 1.18 inches). Each snail’s shell has a unique combination of stripes and colors, so no two are exactly alike. These snails eat ...

We’re all familiar with La Jolla’s sea lions, harbor seals, orcas, garibaldi and seabirds. But in this series of stories called Species of the Month, the Light sheds light on other, lesser-known ...

Snail shells are often colorful and strikingly patterned. This is due to pigments that are produced in special cells of the snail and stored in the shell in varying concentrations. Fossil shells, on ...

You walk along the beach these days and it looks fairly empty compared to the summer; no more crowds, few dogs, even the wrack line is sparse. But here and there are clusters of washed up shells, ...

This story was originally published August 2017. Maybe collecting shells is a favorite pastime of yours, but you don’t know which is a moon snail and which is a mud snail. Or, you’re walking along the ...