Shells of worm snails, also known as vermetids, from a Waialua beach. Some people call these mollusks tube snails, but since the reef also hosts abundant species of tube worms, this name is confusing.

The Tibetan Plateau in south-central Asia, because of its size, elevation and impact on climate, is one of the world's greatest geological oddities. At about 960,000 square miles it covers slightly ...

Symmetry is a feature of many plants, animals and even some molecules -- like water. But that's not the case with snails and their coiled shells. They are chiral -- asymmetrical in such a way that ...

If you look at a snail's shell, the chances are it will coil to the right. But, occasionally, you might find an unlucky one that twists in the opposite direction - as fans of Jeremy the lefty snail ...

Snails have shells the moment they're born, but it's kind of hard to tell. In fact, it's hard to even see a baby snail. Some are nearly microscopic, such as Angustopila psammion, whose adult-sized ...