# Episode 234 - Snails and Slugs

An episode of [The Common Descent Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1207586509), 4 Jan 2026, 2 h 24 min.

Audio: https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/ui3hy5bw8fi654k3/Episode_234_Snails_and_Slugs.mp3

From deep-sea trenches to your home garden, gastropods (snails and slugs) are among the most diverse and successful groups of animal life in Earth history. This episode, we’ll explore what makes these animals distinctive, we’ll touch on their extraordinary fossil record, and we’ll investigate the many evolutionary experiments gastropods have undergone in their anatomy and lifestyle. In the news: squishable ants, false saber-tooths, bee burrows, and baby ankylosaurs Time markers: Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00 News: 00:06:30 Main discussion, Part 1: 00:43:55 Main discussion, Part 2: 01:40:10 Patron question: 02:10:25 Check out our website for this episode’s blog post and more: http://commondescentpodcast.com/ Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here: https://commondescentpodcast.com/request-a-topic/ Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.