Cities Are Turning Snails Yellow
Urban areas are heat islands. Could that be dictating the color of their gastropods?
Take a stroll through the coastal dunes, woodlands, or cities of Europe and you will likely find, with an observant eye, grove snails. They come in a variety of colors: coral pink, lemon yellow, lush mahogany. Sometimes, their shells are swirled with as many as five black bands. For decades in the early and mid-20th century, schoolboys collected the shells in the same way they collected bird eggs, butterflies, and stamps.
Over that time, European cities have sprouted high-rises, concrete, and asphalt. And
