Snails
Gastropoda
EOL Text
Gastropoda (gastropoda) preys on:
algae
Cyrtosperma
Pandanus
Artocarpus altilis
Corylus
Populus
Pyrola
Cornus
Aralia
Aufwuchs
macroalgae
periphyton
detritus
phytoplankton
epiphytic algae
Cephalopoda
Decapoda
Stomatopoda
Anomura
Isopoda
Amphipoda
Pycnogonidae
Tanaidae
Gastropoda
Scaphopoda
Neoloricata
Priapula
Polychaeta
Ophiuroidea
Hemichordata
Holothuroidea
Echiuroidea
Sipunculidae
Bivalvia
Ectoprocta
Cirripedia
Ascidia
Porifera
Cnidaria
Anthozoa
Ostreoida
leaves
Based on studies in:
USA: Washington (Littoral, Rocky shore)
Polynesia (Reef)
Malawi, Lake Nyasa (Lake or pond)
England, River Thames (River)
Chile, central Chile (Littoral, Rocky shore)
Africa, Lake McIlwaine (Lake or pond)
Canada: Manitoba (Forest)
USA: Alaska, Aleutian Islands (Coastal)
USA: Michigan (Lake or pond)
USA: Iowa, Mississippi River (River)
USA, Northeastern US contintental shelf (Coastal)
Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico-Virgin Islands shelf (Reef)
This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.
- B. A. Menge and J. P. Sutherland, Species diversity gradients: synthesis of the roles of predation, competition and temporal heterogeneity, Am. Nat. 110(973):351-369, from p. 360 (1976).
- G. Fryer, The trophic interrelationships and ecology of some littoral communities of Lake Nyasa, Proc. London Zool. Soc. 132:153-281, from p. 218 (1959).
- C. A. Simenstad, J. A. Estes, K. W. Kenyon, Aleuts, sea otters, and alternate stable-state communities, Science 200:403-411, from p. 404 (1978).
- K. H. Mann, R. H. Britton, A. Kowalczewski, T. J. Lack, C. P. Mathews and I. McDonald, Productivity and energy flow at all trophic levels in the River Thames, England. In: Productivity Problems of Freshwaters, Z. Kajak and A. Hillbricht-Ilkowska, Eds. (P
- C. A. Carlson, Summer bottom fauna of the Mississippi River, above Dam 19, Keokuk, Iowa, Ecology 49(1):162-168, from p. 167 (1968).
- H. M. Wilbur, Competition, predation, and the structure of the Ambystoma-Rana sylvatica community, Ecology 53:3-21, from p. 14 (1972).
- J. C. Castilla, Perspectivas de investigacion en estructura y dinamica de communidades intermareales rocosas de Chile Central. II. Depredadores de alto nivel trofico, Medio Ambiente 5(1-2):190-215, from p. 203 (1981).
- B. E. Marshall, The fish of Lake McIlwaine. In Lake McIlwaine: the eutrophication and recovery of a tropical man-made lake (J. A. Thornton, Ed.) Vol 49 Monographia Biologicae, D. W. Junk Publishers, The Hague, pp. 156-188, from p. 180 (1982).
- K. H. Mann, Case history: The River Thames. In: River Ecology and Man (R. T. Oglesby, C. A. Carlson, J. A. McCann, Eds.), Academic Press, New York and London, pp. 215-232 (1972), from p. 224.
- W. A. Niering, Terrestrial ecology of Kapingamarangi Atoll, Caroline Islands, Ecol. Monogr. 33(2):131-160, from p. 157 (1963).
- R. D. Bird, Biotic communities of the Aspen Parkland of central Canada, Ecology, 11:356-442, from p. 406 (1930).
- Link J (2002) Does food web theory work for marine ecosystems? Mar Ecol Prog Ser 230:19
- Opitz S (1996) Trophic interactions in Caribbean coral reefs. ICLARM Tech Rep 43, Manila, Philippines
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Cynthia Sims Parr, Joel Sachs, SPIRE |
Source | http://spire.umbc.edu/fwc/ |
Gastropods lay eggs. The eggs of some species contain a large yolk. Development of the eggs may be within the body, or the eggs may be expelled to develop externally. Eggs develop into larvae. Those species that will develop a shell start it while larvae. As the animal develops, it adds another curl of shell, ending in an opening from which the head and foot of the animal emerge.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Gastropoda/ |
Gastropods are sexual, and some forms are hermaphroditic, meaning that a single individual can produce both egg and sperm. These individuals will exchange sperm with another individual rather than fertilizing themselves.
Key Reproductive Features: sexual
Parental Investment: no parental involvement
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Gastropoda/ |
Shell protects from heat: desert snail
The shell of some desert snails helps them survive extreme heat using light reflectance and architecturally-derived, insulating layers of air.
"It will be a surprise to many biologists that snails are found in large numbers on the dry, barren surfaces of certain hot deserts. The present study is concerned with one such snail, Sphincterochila boissieri, which occurs in the deserts of the Near East. Live specimens of this snail, withdrawn in the shell and dormant, can be found on the desert surface in mid-summer, fully exposed to sun and heat. The surface temperature of these deserts may reach 70 °C and more than a year may pass between rains…
"The maximum air temperature, reached at noon, was 42.6 °C, and the maximum soil surface temperature in the sun, reached at 13.00, was 65.3 °C. Under the snail, in the space between the soil surface and the smooth shell, the maximum temperature was 60.1 °C, or 5.2 °C below the adjacent soil surface in the open sun. The lower temperature under the shell is expected, for the shell provides shade for that particular spot of the soil surface on which it sits. Inside the shell in the largest whorl, located in contact with the ground, the maximum temperature was 56.2 °C. In the second and third whorls the temperature was lower, reaching a maximum of 50.3 °C.
"It is important that the animal, when withdrawn, does not fill the shell and leaves most of the largest whorl filled with air…The snail, withdrawn to the upper parts of the shell, is significantly cooler…
"Why does the snail not heat up to the same temperature as the soil surface? The answer lies in its high reflectivity in combination with the slow conduction of heat from the substrate. Within the visible part of the solar spectrum (which contains about one-half of the total incident solar radiant energy) the reflectance of these snails is about 90%. In the near infrared, up to 1350 nm, the reflectance is similar to that of magnesium oxide and is estimated to be 95%. In the total range of the solar spectrum, therefore, we can say that the snails reflect well over 90% of the incident radiant energy.
"…heat flow, however, is impeded by two important circumstances. Firstly, the snail shell is in direct contact with the rough soil surface only in a few spots, and a layer of still air separates much of its bottom surface from the ground, forming an insulatng [sic] air cushion. Next, and perhaps more important, the snail is withdrawn into the upper parts of the shell and the largest whorl is filled with air; this constitutes a further impediment to heat flow into the snail." (Schmidt-Nielsen et al. 1971:385, 388-9)
Learn more about this functional adaptation.
- Islam MR; Schulze-Makuch D. 2007. Adaptations to environmental extremes by multicellular organisms. International Journal of Astrobiology. 6(3): 199-215.
- Schmidt-Nielsen K; Taylor CR; Shkolnik A. 1971. Desert snails: problems of heat, water and food. Journal of Experimental Biology. 55: 385-398.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | (c) 2008-2009 The Biomimicry Institute |
Source | http://www.asknature.org/strategy/1683ae77eb0b8030d6c81e7098ddcd3c |
Shell is tough armor: golden scale snail
The shell of hydrothermal vent snails serves as tough armor thanks to a three-layered structure incorporating iron sulphide granules.
"During the second ever expedition to hydrothermal vents in the Indian Ocean, biologists spotted a snail with a strange-looking foot. Many snails can close the opening to their shell with a flat, round bit of shell called an operculum. But this snail instead protects itself with scales, a feature seen before only in long extinct species, although the vent snail itself evolved recently. Even more unusually, the scales are reinforced with the iron sulphide minerals fool's gold and greigite, giving them a golden colour. No other multicellular animal is known to use these materials." (Schrope 2005:38)
"…[T]he snail has evolved a tri-layered shell structure consisting of an outer layer embedded with iron sulfide granules, a thick organic middle layer, and a calcified inner layer. This creates a configuration in which the inner compliant layer is sandwiched between two rigid layers.
"Ortiz and her colleagues, including MIT Dean of Engineering Subra Suresh, used nanoscale experiments and computer modeling to determine the shell's structure and mechanical properties. They found that the unique three-layer structure dissipates mechanical energy, which helps the snails fend off attacks from crabs that squeeze the shell with their claws in an attempt to fracture it. The shell of the scaly-foot snail possesses a number of additional energy dissipation mechanisms compared to typical mollusk shells that are primarily composed of calcium carbonate." (Trafton 2010)
Learn more about this functional adaptation.
- Schrope, Mark. 2005. Deep sea special: The undiscovered oceans. New Scientist. 188(2525): 36-43.
- Yao H; Dao M; Imholt T; Huang J; Wheeler K; Bonilla A; Suresh S; Ortiz C. 2010. Protection mechanisms of the iron-plated armor of a deep-sea hydrothermal vent gastropod. PNAS. 107(3): 987-992.
- Trafton A. 2010. Iron-plated snail could inspire new armor. MIT News [Internet],
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | (c) 2008-2009 The Biomimicry Institute |
Source | http://www.asknature.org/strategy/d6cc7ab67f8d0b4eea5890bae51a345f |
Foot aids underwater movement: water snail
The foot of water snails helps them move upside down beneath the water's surface by creating small ripples in the mucus-water interface.
"A UC San Diego engineer has revealed a new mode of propulsion based on how water snails create ripples of slime to crawl upside down beneath the surface.
"Eric Lauga, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the Jacobs School of Engineering, recently published a paper…that explains how and why water snails can drag themselves across a fluid surface that they can't even grip.
"Based on Lauga's research, the secret is in the slime. The main finding of Lauga's research is that soft surfaces, such as the free surface of a pond or a lake, can be distorted by applying forces; these distortions can be exploited (by an animal, or in the lab) to generate propulsive forces and move. Some freshwater and marine snails crawl by 'hanging' from the water surface while secreting a trail of mucus. The snail's foot wrinkles into little rippling waves, which produces corresponding waves in the mucus layer that it secretes between the foot and the air. Parts of the mucus film get squeezed while other parts are stretched, creating a pressure that pushes the foot forward." (Jacobs School of Engineering News 2008)
Watch Video Here
Learn more about this functional adaptation.
- Lee S; Bush JWM; Hoisoi AE; Lauga E. 2008. Crawling beneath the free surface: water snail locomotion. Physics of Fluids. 20(8): 082106.
- 2008. Ripple effect: water snails offer new propulsion possibilities. Jacobs School of Engineering News [Internet],
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | (c) 2008-2009 The Biomimicry Institute |
Source | http://www.asknature.org/strategy/d10f4fde40ee0db29a7a73c2c667a6fc |
Membrane reduces evaporation: land snail
A secreted mucus membrane across the opening of the shells of some land snails protects them from drying out by reducing evaporation.
"And certain land snails, particularly desert dwellers, seal themselves inside their shells to avoid desiccation in dry conditions, secreting a special membrane across their shells' opening that reduces evaporation; they can remain encased for years if need be until rain returns." (Shuker 2001:105)
Learn more about this functional adaptation.
- Shuker, KPN. 2001. The Hidden Powers of Animals: Uncovering the Secrets of Nature. London: Marshall Editions Ltd. 240 p.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | (c) 2008-2009 The Biomimicry Institute |
Source | http://www.asknature.org/strategy/194ff2f524c11ff5eb1629bc42610859 |
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) Stats
Specimen Records: | 47,968 | Public Records: | 30,831 |
Specimens with Sequences: | 41,092 | Public Species: | 4,156 |
Specimens with Barcodes: | 35,602 | Public BINs: | 6,496 |
Species: | 7,406 | ||
Species With Barcodes: | 5,932 | ||
Gastropods are found worldwide. Gastropods are by far the largest group of molluscs. Their 40,000 species comprise over 80% of living molluscs.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Gastropoda/ |