Predation at a snails pace. What is needed for a successful hunt?

Abstract

Daily observations of wild Paryphanta busbyi (New Zealand Kauri snail) along the edge of a driveway were carried out for just over one year. Documented behaviours include the snails speed of movement, thrusting their heads down into leaf litter to wait in ambush for prey, the daily retreat into lairs, burrowing, and the grooming of the snails shell. The most significant environmental factors affecting the presence of the snails were humidity and wind direction. There was a migration of snails into and out of the observable study area at different times of year. Due to the snails pace of 1.9 to 3 m/hr relative to its prey at 5-10m/hr the snails would need to migrate to and inhabit areas where there is likely to be trackable prey. Overall the observations indicate the hunting strategy of a periodically active ambush predator sometimes based in a lair and migrating to suitably humid and windless areas as needed to allow tracking of their prey.