How did the molluscs evolve to live on land?

By the time Silurian plants allowed for sufficient oxygen in the atmosphere, arthropods had already evolved flexible, structurally sound exoskeletons that connected ... read more

So, when they did expand on the land to exploit the new plant growth, their changes were only a matter of increments. Their lungs evolved to process atmospheric oxygen directly instead of oxygen dissolved in water and extracted with gills. read more

One group of terrestrial snails has remained in this early state of evolution until today - the Ellobiidae. Those ancient snails still live in transient habitats near the sea. The Midas ear (Ellobium aurismidae) for example, inhabits mangrove swamps in South-East Asia. read more