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Snail (Gastropoda)
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Description: Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. The 3 species of the Giant African land snail Achatina fulica can grow to be 15 in (38 cm) from snout to tail & weigh 1 kg (2 lb). The largest living species of sea snail is Syrinx aru which has a shell that can measure up to 90 cm (35 in) in length & the whole animal with the shell can weigh up to 18 kg (40 lb). Snails that respire using a lung belong to the group Pulmonata, while those with gills form a paraphyletic group; in other words, snails with gills are divided into a number of taxonomic groups that are not very closely related. Snails with lungs & with gills have diversified widely enough over geological time that a few species with gills can be found on land, numerous species with a lung can be found in freshwater & a few species with a lung can be found in the sea. Snails can be found in a very wide range of environments including ditches, deserts & the abyssal depths of the sea. Although many people are familiar with terrestrial snails, land snails are in the minority. Marine snails constitute the majority of snail species & have much greater diversity and a greater biomass. Numerous kinds of snail can also be found in fresh waters. Most snails have thousands of microscopic tooth-like structures located on a ribbon-like tongue called a radula. The radula works like a file, ripping the food into small pieces. Many snails are herbivorous, eating plants or rasping algae from surfaces with the radula, though a few land species & many marine species are omnivores or predatory carnivores.
Uploaded By: femcat38
Date: 9/6/2011
Views: 547
