Wrinkled Dune Snail

The Wrinkled Dune Snail
(Xeroplexa intersecta previously Candidula intersecta) is an air-breathing pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the Geomitridae family of terrestrial (land) snails. It is an invertebrate, because it does not have a backbone. Its shell is its exo-skeleton (outside skeleton).

The Wrinkled Dune Snail is yellowish-beige with dark-brown and copper bands. The round, globular, coarse (not glossy) shell has a right-handed whorl, which is called a dextral shell. There are five whorls with a slightly raised central spire. Its shell aperture (opening) does not have a lip. The body is bluish-grey with long upper tentacles and short lower tentacles on ts head. Its head extends to form a snout (proboscis). Its eyes are at the tip of the tentacles.

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Grove Unbanded Snail – Yellow Form

The Grove Unbanded Snail – Yellow Form (Cepaea nemoralis) is an air-breathing pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the Helicidae family of terrestrial (land) snails. It is a variant of the Grove Snail, also known as the Brown-Lipped Snail. It is an invertebrate, because it does not have a backbone. Its shell is its exo-skeleton (outside skeleton).

The Grove Unbanded Snail – Yellow Form can be varied in its appearance. The surface of its shell is semi-glossy. The shell has a right-handed whorl, which is called a dextral shell. The colour of the Grove Snail’s shell can be reddish, brownish, yellow, or creamy-white, with or without bands. The Grove Unbanded Snail – Yellow Form has a light, creamy yellow shell. It does not have prominent dark-brown bands or stripes. It has a white lip, not a brown lip. Its head extends to form a snout (proboscis). It has tentacles on its head. Its eyes are at the tip of the tentacles. 

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Common Prawn

The Common Prawn (Palaemon serratus) is a marine (saltwater) crustacean in the Palaemonidae family of invertebrate ten-footed shrimp (decapod). It is related to the crab and the lobster.

The Common Prawn is transparent (see-through) to pinkish-brown with reddish striped-liked markings and patterns. It has an exo-skeleton (outside skeleton) called a carapace or shell. Its forward extension of the carapace in front of its eyes, called the rostrum, curves upwards. The rostrum is also bifurcated at the tip, which means that it is split into two parts. It has long, white antennae. It has bulging eyes. It has ten legs.

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Golden King Crab

The Golden King Crab (Lithodes longispina) is a marine (saltwater) crustacean in the Lithodoidea family of crabs. However, many scientists think it should be classified in the Paguroidea superfamily of hermit crabs. It is a decapod because it has 10 limbs.

The Golden King Crab has five pairs of spiny limbs – 10 limbs. The front pair of legs has claws, or nippers. Its rounded-triangular exoskeleton shell (carapace) is pale orange with spines. 

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Common Striped Woodlouse

The Common Striped Woodlouse (Philoscia muscorum) is an isopod crustacean in the Philosciidae family of woodlice. It is also known as the Fast Woodlouse or the European Woodlouse. 

The Common Striped Woodlouse has a shiny, brown shell-like exo-skeleton (Iike armour), although it can be yellowish-brown with rows of spots. Its head is dark and it has a dark stripe on its back. It has long antennae. It has a segmented body. The last five segments are narrower than the other segments. 

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Green Shield Bug

The Green Shield Bug (Palomena prasina) is an insect in the Pentatomidae family of shield bugs. 

The Green Shield Bug is solid, bright-green to bronze. It has a hard, hairless, smooth exoskeleton that looks like a shield. The shield is called a scutellum. Its underbelly is light-coloured. It has a small head with its eyes on the side of its head. It has forewings (front wings) called hemelytra, and it also has hind wings (back wings). Although it has wings, it is not a strong flyer. Its six green legs, called tarsi, have three segments. It has a sucking mouthpart. 

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Sleepy Sponge Crab

The Sleepy Sponge Crab (Dromia dormia) is a marine (saltwater) crustacean in the Dromiidae family of sponge crabs. It is also known as the Common Sponge Crab.

The Sleepy Sponge Crab is narrow at the mouth and widens at the base of its shell, called a carapace.  The carapace is an exo-skeleton (an outside skeleton). It has ten appendices, with two large nippers (claws) and eight smaller legs. The last two pairs of legs are shorter than the other legs. It walks sideways. It is beige-brown. It carries a sponge on its back, and sometimes other materials, such as wood. 

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Garden Snail

The Garden Snail (Cornu aspersum) is an air-breathing pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the Helicidae family of terrestrial (land) snails. It is an invertebrate, because it does not have a backbone. Its shell is its exo-skeleton (outside skeleton).

The Garden Snail can be varied in colour, but its shell is mainly dark-brown, with stripes, flecks, or streaks in a lighter colour. The shell has a right-handed whorl, which is called a dextral shell.It has a brown lip. Its head extends to form a snout (proboscis). It has tentacles on its head. Its eyes are at the tip of the tentacles. 

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European Pond Snail

The European Pond Snail (Radix peregra) is an air-breathing, freshwater mollusc in the Lymnaeidae family of pond snails. It is an aquatic pulmonate gastropod. It is an invertebrate because it does not have a backbone. Its shell is its exo-skeleton (outside skeleton).

The European Pond Snail has a brown shell that spirals clockwise. It has four whorls with fine grooves. The last whorl is next to the opening. Its tentacles are short, and the posterior end of its foot is round.

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Round Mouthed Snail

The Round Mouthed Snail (Pomatias elegans) is a small, air-breathing, terrestrial (land) gastropod mollusc in the Pomatiidae family of operculate land snails. It is an invertebrate, because it does not have a backbone. Its shell is its exo-skeleton (outside skeleton).

The Round Mouthed Snail has a thick, whitish, conical shell and wide mouth with a chalky operculum (lid) at the rear of its body. The shell forms a whorl. The top of the spire points upward and the opening of its mouth is on the right – so it has a right-handed whorl, which is called a dextral shell. It can close its shell’s mouth with its lid. Its head extends to form a snout (proboscis). It has only one pair of tentacles on its head (instead of two pairs). Its eyes are at the tip of the tentacles. 

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Greater Spiny Crab

The Greater Spiny Crab (Maja brachydactyla) is a marine (saltwater) crustacean in the Majidae family of crabs. It is a majid crab. It is also called a Sea Spider.

The Greater Spider Crab is almost triangular in shape with an olive-khaki-green exo-skeleton (shell) called a carapace. The carapace is covered in spines called tubercles. It has 10 orange legs. 

The Greater Spider Crab walks forward – unlike most crabs that walk sideways.

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Dog Whelk Sea Snail

The Dog Whelk Sea Snail (Nucella lapillus) is a marine (saltwater) mollusc gastropod in the Muricidae family of rock sea snails. It is also called the Atlantic Dogwinkle. 

The Dog Whelk is usually whitish-grey, but it can be a variety of colours, such as orange, yellow, brown, black, or banded. It has a hard, external shell, called an exo-skeleton, that is smooth with a pointed spire. It has a short, straight siphon canal. The shell shape varies, depending upon the tidal waves, but it is usually rounded and spirally corded. Most of its body is made of whorls. The aperture (hole or lip) is quite wide.

The Dog Whelk, like other Sea Snails, has a single auricle (chamber) in its heart, and a single pair of gill slits for breathing. 

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Lovely Vallonia Snail

The Lovely Vallonia Snail (Vallonia pulchella) is a very small, air-breathing, land pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the Valloniidae family of land snails. It is an invertebrate, because it does not have a backbone. Its shell is its exo-skeleton (outside skeleton).

The Lovely Vallonia Snail has an ivory-white round shell that spirals clockwise. Its shell has fine, irregular brownish streaks. Its shell has three whorls. The last whorl is next to the opening. The opening lacks a thick margin like other land snails have. Instead, its shell is thin and light. The tentacles are short, and the posterior end of the foot is round.

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White-Legged Snake Millipede

The White-Legged Snake Millipede (Tachypodolulus niger) is a diplopod in the Julidae family of millipedes. It is also called the Black Millipede. It is not an insect because it does not have 6 legs. It is a diplopod, which means double legs.  

The White-Legged Snake Millipede has a long, cylindrical, segmented, shiny, black body with a hard exo-skeleton. It has around 100 pairs of white legs. It has 41-56 body segments with two pairs of legs on most segments. It has a short head with a number of simple eyes called ocelli – and poor eyesight. It has short antennae.

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Mottled Shield Bug

The Mottled Shield Bug (Rhaphigaster nebulosi) is an insect in the Pentatomidae family of shield bugs or stink bugs. It is called a Stink Bug because it has an unpleasant smell when it is squashed. Nymphs have stink glands on their back. Adults have stink glands on the underside of the thorax. 

The Mottled Shield Bug has a hard, hairless, smooth exoskeleton that looks like a shield.The shield is called a scutellum.It is yellowish-grey, grey, or brown with irregular mottled markings. Its underbelly is light-coloured. Its underbelly also has a long spur. On its lateral edge (side), called a connexivum, it has irregularly-spaced black and yellow markings. 

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Lesser Cockroach

The Lesser Cockroach (Ectobius panzeri) is an insect in the Ectobiidae family (formerly the Blattellidae family) of non-cosmopolitan cockroaches. 

The Lesser Cockroach is brownish-black.It has a waxy exo-skeleton, like a shield. Its head has pale yellow markings, with long antennae. It has wings and can fly short distances. The female has shorter wings than the male. It has pads and hooks on its feet that enable it to climb, even on smooth glass.

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Black-and-Red-Bug

The Black-and-Red-Bug (Lygaeus equestris) is an insect in the Lygaeidae family of ground bugs. 

The Black-and-Red Bug has a red-black pattern on its exoskeleton. Its hemelytra (front wings) are black and red with an oval-shaped white dot. It is also red and black on its scutellum (head shield). The scutellum has tiny hairs. It has fully-developed wings and long, strong legs. It antennae are long.It has a sucking mouthpart. 

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Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Halyomorpha halys) is a small insect in the Pentatomidae family of shield bugs. It is called the Stink Bug because it has an unpleasant smell when it is squashed.

The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug has a dark-brown and bluish hard, shield-shaped exo-skeleton and a cream-coloured underbelly. The shield is called a scutellum. Marmorated means ‘marble-like’ or light and dark bands. Its six greyish-black legs, called tarsi, have three segments. It has forewings (front wings) called hemelytra, and it also has hindwings (back wings). It has a sucking mouthpart. 

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