Giant African Snail — LANGE 
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fence posts (see Fig. 6), sides of build- 
ings, rock piles (see Fig. 7), the under sur- 
faces of leaves, boards, and other objects, or 
dense jungle growth. During favorable con- 
ditions snails crawled forth from these pro- 
tected places to feed. Because of the uneven 
distribution of refuges, the distribution of 
snail populations varied and was often con- 
centrated in certain areas. Snails often 
climbed up into trees to positions 10 to 25 
feet above the ground and remained there 
during the day. 
In certain areas on Saipan, Rota, and 
Tinian, such as plane runways, it was ob- 
served that snails often became gregarious 
and congregated in rather compact masses, 
as shown in Figure 8. It was thought that 
this was a method of securing protection and 
a mechanism of moisture conservation. 
It was observed that snails were able to 
endure lengthy periods without feeding. One 
snail placed in a cardboard mailing tube lived 
5 months without food, except for some of 
the cardboard lining. The snail died within 
Fig. 7. Achatina attached to rocks during the day, Mt. Tapachou, Saipan, March 16, 1948. Note 
loss of apical whorls in one specimen. 
