Littorina sitkana is a very common intertidal snail in Juneau.  In order to find it, all one really has to do is walk out on to the beach and look down.  They are small with a maximum length of 2 cm.  Their shells are rather bland in coloring being mostly back and brown.  Other colors, such as orange and white, are also seen, often appearing as stripes as in the case of the animal in the above picture.  The shell is grooved and composed of four pronounced whorls with a rounded apex and aperture.
       A snail that could easily be confused with L. sitkana is the Littorina scutulata, a close relative.  The animals are often seen together, though  L.  scutulata are more widespread and are therefore not as commonly seen.  In comparison, the  L. scutulata has a much more pointed shell with a narrower aperture and pointed apex.  Someone once told me to always remember the fat man from Sitka (as L. sitkana appears to be“fatter”) as way of remembering which animal was which.