A Hilarious Look at the Tiniest One-Footed Surfers! 

The sandy shores of beaches are full of so much wonder; from the expansive ocean, stunning shells, and sunshine that we know so well, to the snails who surf along the water’s edge. Wait. Surfing snails? Oh yeah—we humans aren’t the only ones catching waves out there. There’s a world of tiny foot-surfers right in front of us!

With their snot nets, foot surfboards, and impressively unique ways of eating, these farsighted snails scooting their way along the ocean’s shore will make your next beach trip even more joyful.

Source: Wikimedia

The ones with the most talented foot

If you visit beaches along the coast of the Atlantic or Pacific oceans, you might find yourself in awe of these tiny new friends of yours.

These snails have some interesting quirks, that’s for sure. You’ll find some hanging out in the sand, holding out a net of mucus to catch food in. Others, well, they’ll be holding out their foot (yeah, they just have one) to catch a sweet wave and launch themselves along the shore. All the while, there are still others— larger than their fellow snails—who are buried, lying in wait until their delivery order (also known as a smaller snail) shows up, and they rise out of the sand like some sort of horror-flick swamp monster to devour them.

To give us an absolutely hilarious look at the lives of these surfing sea snails you may already be somewhat acquainted with, take a moment with this video from Ze Frank!

I’d rate our video today to be a solid PG-13. It’s got some mature language, but it’s all animal footage! So, if you’re someone or are with someone who isn’t comfortable with this rating, check out this video instead. (It’s the snails surfing!)

Ze Frank has a knack for helping us discover the wonder of the world in the most clever ways. He does his research, connecting with scientists in the field to learn about the creatures he features and to double-check his work. Ze’s channel is one of my favorites to jump into for a good laugh and to learn something new about the world!

Big thanks to Dr. Nathan J. Robinson for recommending this video to me! He was one of Ze’s references for this video! This guy’s involved in some seriously cool business, from sea turtle conservation to discovering giant squid right off the coast of the United States. Check out his YouTube channel to see more amazing creatures in action!

Here’s an image he sent over from his own studies of these surfin’ snails. The big one’s the predator, and the small one, well, lunch.

Predator and prey snails
Courtesy of Dr. Nathan J. Robinson

When the simplest moments become full of joy!

Isn’t it amazing that the more we learn about the world around us, the more fascinating and wonder-full it becomes? There’s a captivating story attached to most everything, from your shirt buttons to the reason why your cat always does that weird thing. It just takes following that spark of curiosity to find it!

But that’s why we’re here!

At Ever Widening Circles we want to make it easier for you to tap into that wonder and joy every day. That’s why we’ve published well over a thousand articles celebrating all the bits of our world that make it so amazing and even created a mobile app so you can access all of this wonder at the click of a button!

To make your trip to the beach even more fun, make sure you check out these articles next!

As always, stay open to new possibilities! You never know who will be surfing their way into your heart next.

• Sam