How does the giant African snail see?
The giant African snail (Lissachatina fulica) is a mollusc in the order Stylommatophora. Its eyes belong to the vision type .
Measured in this species: motion (flicker fusion). One measured dial: a value other than colour or sharpness is measured in this species; colour and sharpness are not measured here. Every value below carries its evidence level and sources; nothing is typed by hand.
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What stands out
- It stops seeing flicker at 0.6 Hz, against 60 Hz for people in this dataset, so fast motion looks choppier to it.[3][4]
- Activity pattern: cathemeral.
The six dials
Evidence levels: how the tiers work. "Measured" means a value measured in this species; "Estimated" values come from a close relative or an eye-size formula.
| Dial | Value | Evidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colour | No value in the catalogue. | ||
| Sharpness | No value in the catalogue. | ||
| Field of view | No value in the catalogue. | ||
| Sharp zones (foveas) | No value in the catalogue. | ||
| Night vision | Activity pattern cathemeral group default: mode of tier-A values in vision type phylum Mollusca within phylum Mollusca (54 species: Aporrhais pespelecani, Aporrhais serresiana, Canarium darwinense, Canarium erythrinum, Canarium incisum, Canarium… | Group default | [1] |
| Rods vs cones no rods (invertebrate photoreceptors) | Group default | [1] | |
| Motion (flicker fusion) | Flicker fusion frequency 0.6 Hz median of 1 rows (no bright-light flag) (behavioural/whole-eye ERG rows; all rows: [0.57]) | Measured | [2] |
Related animals
- Horseshoe crab same vision type
- Tuatara same vision type
- Australian lungfish same vision type
- Brine shrimp same vision type
- Coelacanth same vision type
- Commander same vision type
More molluscs: all molluscs with measured vision data.
Sources
- Irwin AR et al. 2024. Evolution of large eyes in Stromboidea (Gastropoda): impact of photic environment and life history traits. Supplementary tables (Zenodo 10.5281/zenodo.13768189); Dryad doi:10.5061/dryad.pnvx0k6v0. doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13768189
- Lafitte A, Sordello R, Legrand M, Nicolas V, Obein G, Reyjol Y. 2022. A flashing light may not be that flashy: A systematic review on critical fusion frequencies. PLoS ONE 17(12): e0279718. S10 File (CFF database). doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279718
- Healy K, McNally L, Ruxton GD, Cooper N, Jackson AL. 2013. Metabolic rate and body size are linked with perception of temporal information. Animal Behaviour 86:685-696. Table 1. doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.06.018
- Inger R, Bennie J, Davies TW, Gaston KJ. 2014. Potential biological and ecological effects of flickering artificial light. PLoS ONE 9(5): e98631. Table 3. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0098631
Every value cites its sources (all sources). Data: catalogue-v1, built 2026-09-29. Accuracy notes: how accurate is this?