Gastropods inhabit all of Vancouver Island – from alpine meadows to old-growth coniferous forests, and from valley lowlands to urban gardens & parks.
Banana Slug
The Banana Slug is native to BC and can grow to a length of 20 cm, with a few giants reaching up to 25 cm, making them the second-largest Gastropod in the world, the Limax genus in Europe is the largest. Read More….
Banded Garden Snail
The Banded Garden Snails can have many shell colours, including yellow, red, pink, & olive. As the name implies, this Gastropods shell usually sports dark brown bands. However, these may be absent in some morphs. If the bands are present, they can vary between 1 and 5 in number. Read More….
Black Garden Slug
The size of this Gastropod varies, they occasionally reach dimensions of about 25 cm at maturity but usually are under 15 cm. The colour of this slug is generally black, as its name suggests, but the coloration is quite variable, and it can even be white! Young specimens are brown, which gradually change as they reach their mature state. Read More….
Common Pond Snails
Snails can be found in many places, like gardens, ponds, forests, and even the ocean. They belong to a group of animals called mollusks, which are related to oysters, clams & other shellfish. They have soft bodies that are protected by a hard shell. Read More….
Jumping Slugs
We have at least 7 types of jumping slugs known in BC, with 3 of them found on Vancouver Island. They were first discovered in 1999 on Vancouver Island. They can be found hiding amidst the forest floor leave matter. It appears that all are found in ancient forest locations that also have numerous old large-leaf maple trees. Read More….
Pacific Sideband Snail
The Pacific Sideband Snail has a shell diameter of up to 3.5 cm and is a medium-sized Gastropod. Its shell has 5 to 6 spirals, with lighter-coloured thin bands that cross each one. The uppermost swirls are often pale from wear. Shell colour ranges from gold to dark brown, and lightning to amber around the shell opening. Read More….
Robust Lancetooth Snail
The Robust Lancetooth is quite a common snail on the BC coast, It’s a very pretty snail, sometimes it’s called the albino snail because of its white body. This snail is commonly found in forest settings, this Gastropod spends most of its time under rocks, logs, and moss, or down deep in forest litter. The robust lancetooth snail feeds on slugs, earthworms, and other snails. Read More….
Spotted Leopard Slug
Spotted Leopard slugs can reach more than 20 cm in length. They vary in color from yellow to gray or brown with black spots on the mantle near the head and black stripes extending along the rest of the body. There is a breathing pore on the back part of the mantle that this slug uses to breathe. Limax maximus, known as the spotted leopard slug, is an invasive, terrestrial Gastropod of the phylum Mollusca. Some other common names include tiger slug and great grey slug. Recognizable by its black spots and its gray body coloration. Read More….
Yellow Bordered Tail Dropper Slug
The yellow-bordered tail dropper slug (Prophysaon Flioatum) is a very cool-looking gastropod for sure. They are the largest tail dropper we have on Vancouver Island. When these slugs are attacked by a beetle, snake, or other predators, they have the ability to drop up to 1/3 of their tail and escape. Apparently, they produce a large amount of slime at the head area which makes these predators attack them in the tail area. Read More….
You can see large ones after a rain or late at night when there is dew, but as a rule, most snails & slugs are tiny and stay hidden under rocks & garden debris.
Snails and slugs belong to a large & diverse group of animals called gastropods, that live in oceans, freshwater, and on land.
Gastropods have a distinct head, with eyes at the end of their tentacles, and a broad, flat foot used for locomotion. Vancouver Island has many fascinating snails and slugs that dwell on both land and water fresh and salt. Gastropods can be quite amazing to observe!
ohhhhhh noooooo, YUK we r moving to ladysmith and there is a forest behind us. Those long ones look like snake. Grannie scared.
these creatures are the cleaners in the forest and are needed,