Purple Olive Snail (Callianax biplicata)
(photo credit: Molly Sultany)
Purple olive snail as it burrows in the sand (left) and what it looks like after burrowing (right) (photo credit: Katie Corliss)
Description: The purple olive snail is a striking mollusk that gets their name from their resemblance to olive pits. Their shells have a purple tint to them whether they’re overall gray or off-white or dark purple with a slight striping pattern that runs across their shell from the base to the pointed tip. Shells of purple olive snails are usually 3.5 cm long. The foot is white or cream colored.
Habitat: These snails are found from southern Alaska to Baja California, Mexico. They live in the sand of the low intertidal and often burrow under the sand.
Diet: Purple olive snails are omnivorous, eating both algae and detritus from other animals.
Tide Pool Tidbits:
If you see a thin trail in the sand at the beach, it’s probably from a purple olive snail! A bump in the sand at the end of a trail like this indicates the location of a snail that has burrowed underground.
When they’re moving, purple olive snails position their foot in front of their shell to use as a plow while they burrow in sand.
Purple olive snails are most active at night and often move up and down the beach with the tide.
References: Walla Walla University, The New Beachcomber’s Guide to the Pacific Northwest by J Duane Sept