There are two types of animals commonly referred to as Bubble snails, the kind of bubble snails we are talking about today have thin shells that are almost spherical in shape. The kind of bubble snails we are not talking about today are the snails that make bubbles and use them as a floating raft.

Bubble snails

Bubble snails are also known as bubble shells and paper bubble shells because their shells tend to be quite thin so thin they often appear transparent. Bubble snail shells don’t always do the best job of protection either some bubble snails are too big to fit in their teeny shells and in others, the shell may be receding into their body making it almost an internal structure.

Bubble snails are also sometimes called head shields because they share an order with slugs commonly referred to as head shield slugs. Thats why a lot of bubble snail classification comes from the samplings of shells without a body this obviously doesn’t provide the whole picture so their classification is changing as scientists use more precise methods of identifying species.

Where do bubble snails live?

New species of bubble snails are still being discovered so there’s still a lot to learn. Bubble snails are found throughout most of the world’s oceans even polar areas some species live in intertidal areas among rocks and under the sand as well as mud flats. Sometimes they can even get exposed to air other species can be found at greater depths.

Usually in places with vegetation specifically speaking bubble snails really like eel grass and they’re mostly active during the night. During the day they make mucus tunnels under the sand that collapse as they move through them. The bubble snails will actually trail mucus below their feet as well as over their heads in order to allow this kind of movement.

Bubble snail size

Bubble snails are small though the largest bubble snails reach more than 2 and 1/2 inches in length. Most species are less than an inch long with the shells sometimes only reaching half their body length this implies that they don’t make much of a meal not that they taste very good. Anyway some species of bubble snails are thought to be toxic though this doesn’t stop new tube ranks from eating them.

Bubble snails may however be able to let out a chemical signal to others in the area that they’re under attack which is great for breeding season. When they gather in large groups bubble snails possess both male and female reproductive organs but they still have to breed with another individual in order to produce offspring.

They’ll line up with each end to their partners opposite because their reproductive organs are on opposite ends both individuals from a mating pair are able to lay eggs as long as both receive sperm. If they don’t, it’s not a big problem because bubble snails mate with  multiple partners bubble snail eggs are laid in stringy noodle like clusters that contain upwards of 200,000 eggs.

One snail may produce five or more of these clusters the eggs are usually laid in vegetation such as eel grass and the larvae look like teensy floating snails with wings which are eventually shed and replaced with the adult snails squishy body. Some bubble snails are predators and eat other snails by valves and worms such as bobbitt worms but others are herbivores and eat algae.

How long they can live is a secret they’re currently keeping to themselves.