Snail Anatomy

His body is a cluster of peculiarities and surprising data not found in other animals. The matrix produces cells that become the nail plate.

Snail Monitoring Hands On The Land

Snail anatomy land snails and slugs all have a similar external gastropod body plan subject to variation.

Snail anatomy. Slugs and snails have two pairs of retractable tentacles on their head. A snail cannot leave its shell any more easily than humans can leave their fingernails. A slug or snail moves by rhythmic waves of muscular contraction on the underside of its foot.

The anatomy of a common snail garden snail cornu aspersum defecating a snail breaks up its food using the radula inside its mouth. Most of us recognize snails by their spiral shell but this is not the only interesting thing about them. It is the part of the nail bed that is beneath the nail and contains nerves lymph and blood vessels.

The radula works like a file ripping food into small pieces. At the same time a layer of mucus is secreted which helps smooth the slugs path across the ground. The matrix sometimes called the matrix unguis keratogenous membrane nail matrix or onychostroma is the tissue or germinal matrix which the nail protects.

Numerous kinds of snail can also be found in fresh water. Snails living in the water excrete ammonia and are not uricotelic. Snails living on the land are uricotelicthis means that to preserve water they excrete almost solid uric acid.

The upper optic tentacles have light sensitive eyespots on the ends. The shell stays with the snail for its life. Although land snails may be more familiar to laymen marine snails constitute the majority of snail species and have much greater diversity and a greater biomass.

Most have a shell of some sort whether it be external internal or somewhere between the two. The anatomy of a land snail is very different from most animals. Land snails have a coiled shell to which their body is attached by a strong muscle.

Most snails have thousands of microscopic tooth like structures located on a banded ribbon like tongue called a radula. The radula is a chitinous ribbon like structure containing rows of microscopic teeth. Snails and slugs move by contracting and relaxing muscles in the foot.

The snail can withdraw its body completely into the shell when it is resting or protecting itself from a predator.

Dissection Of A Snail Helix Pomatia Springerlink