Also known as Faithful Sideband, Pacific Sideband Snail
Pacific sidebands are among the largest native land snails in the Pacific Northwest, easily recognized by their smooth, glossy shells patterned with a bold dark equatorial stripe framed by lighter margins. While they often graze on the damp forest floor among sword ferns and rotting fallen trees, individuals routinely climb several meters up bigleaf maples and red alders to feed on epiphytic lichens and moisture-laden mosses. To survive dry summer spells and freezing winter weather, they seal their shell aperture with a protective parchment of dried mucus known as an epiphragm, aestivating in deep leaf litter or under downed wood.
