NO, THAT鈥橲 not a minor character from the latest Star Wars movie. This exotic-looking creature with its anteater-like snout is Tropidophora cuvieriana, an example of the incredible diversity and, yes, strange beauty of land snails.
鈥淢ost people think land snails are just ugly and slimy, and some are,鈥� says photographer Ingo Arndt. 鈥淏ut many species are also very beautiful and show interesting behaviour.鈥�
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He decided to photograph the land snails鈥� beauty and coloration as he travelled around the world. He saw a wide variety of shell colours and patterns, for example (below, from top to bottom) the tree snail of the genus Amphidromus; the Cuban land snails Polymita venusta and Polymita picta iolimbata. Caracolus excellens has a distinctive flat, black shell. 鈥淚 think these animals deserve it that we show their beautiful side,鈥� he says.
But Arndt also wanted to bring the snails鈥� plight to the public鈥檚 attention. Like other animals, habitat destruction and pollution mean that thousands of snail species are endangered. Around a tenth of the 200 known species have probably disappeared.
These beauties also face another threat: shell collectors. With the Cuban snails in particular, Arndt notes that many are smuggled out of the country to fill collections across the globe. 鈥淪ome important areas are already empty [due to collectors],鈥� he says.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淗ere鈥檚 lookin鈥� at you鈥�
