Websites
Aquatic Snails
aquaticsnails.weebly.com This new site look like it will focus exclusively on freshwater operculates (groups which include most of our all-time favourite snails) so watch this space! The biggest freshwater operculates (like viviparids and ampullarids) are, in our opinion, the closest approximation to octopuses it is possible to keep at home without a massive marine aquarium and correspondingly massive amounts of spare time and money. The site also offers to share livestock within the UK and re-home unwanted operculates. The Apple Snail (Ampullariidae) Website: applesnail.net This site has a vast amount of informative and experience based content on these engaging and active aquatic snails. Keeping Pet Snails and Slugs - Care, species, health and much more...: petsnails.co.uk Something of a 'go-to' resource for all things relating to pet snails, with lots of species specific information and care advice. Anyone planning to purchase their first pet snail should spend an evening exploring these pages, and anyone who already has snails will find lots of interest too. The Living World of Molluscs: molluscs.at If you find wikipedia's mollusc pages a bit dry, but you want to immerse yourself in the world of molluscs then this is the site for you. We keep going back (even though we love Wikipedia!). The Book of Snails: bookofsnails.weebly.com A lovely site if you've the time and inclination to reflect on the understated wonder of snails through classical and not so classical literature. Goes well with a cup of tea and biscuits. CephalopodsThe Cephalopod Page: Octopus, Squid, Cuttlefish, and Nautilus thecephalopodpage.org We were scandalised rather than re-inspired by Sy Montgomery's 'The Soul of an Octopus' (see below), and find the idea of keeping octopuses and their cephalopod brethren as pets totally abhorrent. We do, however, still consider this content rich site to be an extremely good and informative read for anyone with an interest in cephs and dreams of a bond villain-esque aquarium. |
Books we've read recentlyDarwin's Lost World - The Hidden History of Animal Life (2009); Martin Brasier. A great read, which incidentally and without effort beautifully covered the unimaginable antiquity of molluscs and snails. It will make you look at our little shelled friends with even greater admiration than before. The Soul of an Octopus - A Surprising Exploration of one of the World's Most Intriguing Creatures (2015); Sy Montgomery. Well written, but laced with rather too much personal and (in our opinion) far fetched surmise by the author for our tastes. This book left us unsatisfied, perhaps because the author didn't explore the aquarium staffs' opinions on whether the octopuses she grew to love should have actually been captured in the first place. |