EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Snail With an Interesting Use

Yellow Bush Snail (Xanthomelon durvillii), Family Camaenidae
Northern Territory, Australia

Explanation:  OK, we've all seen snails, and likely eradicated more than a few from our gardens and lawns.  But this one has a different kind of history.  

We are in Berry Springs Nature Park, near Palmerston in "Top End," Northern Territory, Australia, out in the soggy mangrove coastal marshlands, key habitat for this mollusk.  This is a yellow bush snail, native to the intertidal zone of this northern Arnhem Land region of the country. 

I could not find much research or literature on this species, but one source (Fullagar et al. 1999) had an interesting story about it.  Apparently, indigenous peoples of the region, the Australian Aboriginies, would string shells of this very snail species onto strands of Ficus seaweed, and paint them white.  They would then hang the strands around the necks of their hunting dogs when venturing out on moonlight evenings.  The hunters tracked their dogs by the noise of the rattling shells and the white color of the shells.  So the hunters could follow their dogs into the night, and monitor the dogs' movements to determine when the dogs cornered prey that could be caught.  

Further, the shells were also used as rattles and necklaces for people, but the shells were then painted red, yellow, and white, with patterns of black dots. 

They also created rattles from the shells to accompany musical performances, by being shaken.

Quite the multi-useful mollusk!  Think of these wonderfully clever uses, invented by these imaginative peoples, the next time you spot a snail in your garden or yard.  

  
Information:
    Burch, J. B. 1976. Outline of classification of Australian terrestrial molluscs (native and introduced). Journal of the Malacological Society of Australia 3(3-4):127-156.
    Fullagar, R., B. Meehan, and R. Jones. 1999. Residue analysis of ethnographic plant-working and other tools from northern Australia. Pp. 6-14 in: P. C. Anderson, editor. Prehistory of agriculture. New experimental and ethnographic approaches. Monograph 40. The Institute of Archeology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA.  307 pp.