November 1, 2020
November 1, 2020
Today I got over 5000 images and media files loaded into WordPress. Most of the work was done by several utilities that ran unattended. WordPress made its usual mess of things, but it is all cleaned up now.
These creatures are all of the order Gastropoda - having a single, often coiled, shell, as opposed to the bivalves, which have two matching shells. Most snails are hermaphroditic. Also, most snails have a right-hand twist to the shell, although there are exceptions.
Right:
X-ray image of a Channeled Whelk, showing internal structure.
Nudibranchs are a form of snail that has lost its shell, while Corollas and Sea Butterflies are snails that have abandoned not just their shells, but the snail-like existence entirely, swimming up into the water column as plankton.
More: Snails ...
