Portal:Gastropods/Selected picture/2



The pulmonate land snail Cepaea hortensis crawling up a twig. Because the shell is somewhat translucent in this species, the presence of the pallial lung is noticeable as a relatively large light area showing the volume of air within the mantle cavity.

The muscles that pull back the ommatophores (the two upper tentacles, which have eye spots at the ends) are lightly pigmented, and are visible as two parallel lines that reach through the base of the tentacles and back into the body. Part of the tail protrudes below the shell at the end of the animal. Land snails of this size (shell about 2 cm) can climb vertical surfaces and even hang upside down when necessary.