BIODIVERSITY

Glass snails are flat, thin-shelled snails and the blue-gray animal is clearly visible through the yellowish brown shell. These snails have been introduced from Europe and are found mostly in landscaping, especially where water is plentiful. The only glass snail known from Santa Barbara is the dark-bodied glass snail, but the cellar glass snail (O. cellarius) looks almost identical and they can only be reliably differentiated by dissection. Both have been introduced to Southern California, along with the garlic glass snail (O. allarius), which emits a garlic-like odor when disturbed. Individuals on campus have been dissected and confirmed as the dark-bodied glass snail.