The Water Relations of Snails and Slugs

Abstract

ABSTRACT In the first paper of this series (Howes and Wells, 1934), we showed that active specimens of the edible snail (Helix pomatia) continually undergo considerable fluctuations in weight, due to changes in their water content, even in environments which do not greatly vary in physical properties. The following experiments were performed in order to find out whether similar phenomena occur in slugs. Most of the experiments were done on Arion ater, but specimens of Limax flavus were also studied. The results obtained on the two species will be described separately and then discussed together.