I did not find any snails that were still alive where I found their shells which were white like bones and small in size. The shells were scattered with the rest of the coral, exposing out of the layer of soil that covered them.
I firmly believe that the shells are nothing but shells of land snails, are terrestrial, and very similar to Polygyra cereolus in the family Polygyridae. But I do not understand what reality is explained by the presence of shells here, again only shells, and not a single living snail of this species I have come across.
What we understand, the snails need calcium to build their shells, and they get that through consuming plants, rotting wood, mold on rocks, animal dung, and the habitat in which they live is generally a shady and humid environment. One thing that I observed, the environment in which I was and found them could not be said to be shady enough let alone humid. Does finding shells there indicate an environment in the past that is different from today?
Returning to the shell to identify the snail species what exactly is it? I've said it before, it looks like Polygyra cereolus. But this of course remains to be discussed as there are many species in the Polygyridae family. The size of the snail, the number of shell circles, lips, and the height of the dome may be used as clues to identify a snail species. The sizes of the shells I found vary from 1 to 3 cm in diameter. I noticed they also had shell circles from 3 to 5, and not so high shell domes. It could also be Mesodon thyroidus in the family Polygyridae. However, it is still difficult for me to ascertain the species of these snails, even though I believe they are in the Polygyridae family. The factor of the length of time since they were alive may complicate this identification. And I imagine the environment they lived in used to seem to be overcrowded with a variety of vegetation to provide enough moisture for them to breed and lay their eggs in the cavities of the soil.
Although I still want to know about this, but for now, at least, I can enjoy the uniqueness of these amazing horn-shaped shells. Let me share about this.
