Desert snails: problems of heat, water and food.

It will be a surprise to many biologists that snails are found in large numbers on the dry, barren surfaces of certain hot deserts. The present study is concerned with one such snail, Sphincterochila boissieri, which occurs in the deserts of the Near East. Live specimens of this snail, withdrawn in the shell and dormant, can be found on the desert surface in mid-summer, fully exposed to sun and heat. The surface temperature of these deserts may reach 70 °C and more than a year may pass between rains. Such a severe habitat poses three seemingly insurmountable problems for these snails: (1) thermal death, (2) desiccation, and (3) death from starvation. This paper will deal with our studies of each of these three problems.