Snail
hideThe word snail is a common name for almost all members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the mid adult stage. When the word snail is used in a general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails.
Snails lacking a shell or having only a very small one are usually called slugs. Snails that have a broadly conical shell that is not coiled or appears not to be coiled are usually known as limpets.
Snails can be found in a wide range of environments from ditches, deserts, and the abyssal depths of the sea. Although most people are familiar with terrestrial snails, land snails are in the minority. Marine snails have much greater diversity and a greater biomass. The great majority of snail species are marine. Numerous kinds can be found in fresh water and even brackish water. Many snails are herbivorous, though a few land species and many marine species are omnivores or predatory carnivores.
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 and 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, and a few species with a lung can be found in the sea.
For more information about Snail, read the full article at
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News tagged with snails
Let them eat snail
Nov 19, 2009 |
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A nutritionist in Nigeria says that malnutrition and iron deficiency in schoolchildren could be reduced in her country by baking up snail pie. In a research paper to be published in the International Journal of Food Safety, Nu ...
Crikey steveirwini! Snail honour for late Aussie star
Nov 13, 2009 |
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An Australian scientist has paid an unusual tribute to late conservation star Steve Irwin by naming a rare species of snail "crikey steveirwini".
Snail fossils suggest semiarid eastern Canary Islands were wetter 50,000 years ago
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 27, 2009 |
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Fossil land snail shells found in ancient soils on the subtropical eastern Canary Islands show that the Spanish archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa has become progressively drier over the past 50,000 years.
Parasites keep things sexy in 'hotspots'
Jul 23, 2009 |
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The coevolutionary struggle between a New Zealand snail and its worm parasite makes sex advantageous for the snail, whose females favor asexual reproduction in the absence of parasites, say Indiana University ...
Toxic chemicals affect steroid hormones differently in humans and invertebrates
Jun 29, 2009 |
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In a study with important consequences for studies on the effects of chemicals on steroid responses in humans, a team of French and American scientists, including Michael E. Baker, PhD, professor in UC San Diego's Department ...
Snail venoms reflect reduced competition
May 20, 2009 |
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A study of venomous snails on remote Pacific islands reveals genetic underpinnings of an ecological phenomenon that has fascinated scientists since Darwin.
Atlantic snails are increasing dramatically in size
Mar 24, 2009 |
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A Queen's University biologist has discovered that the shell lengths of snails in the northwest Atlantic Ocean - an important member of the Atlantic food chain - have increased by 22.6 per cent over the past ...
Food choices and location influence California sea otter exposure to disease
Biology /
Jan 19, 2009 |
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Sea otters living along the central California coast risk higher exposure to disease-causing parasites as a consequence of the food they eat and where they feed.
Tale of two snails reveals secrets about the biochemistry of evolution
Nov 03, 2008 |
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Researchers in Spain are reporting deep new insights into how evolution changes the biochemistry of living things, helping them to adapt to new environments. Their study, based on an analysis of proteins produced ...
Ripple effect: Water snails offer new propulsion possibilities
Oct 09, 2008 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- 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.
Tiny invasive snail impacts Great Lakes, alters ecology
Biology /
Aug 08, 2008 |
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Long a problem in the western U.S., the New Zealand mud snail currently inhabits four of the five Great Lakes and is spreading into rivers and tributaries, according to a Penn State team of researchers. These tiny creatures ...
