Garden snail: Difference between revisions
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== Life Cycle == | == Life Cycle == | ||
Members of Cornu aspersum are hermaphrodites, meaning they produce both male and female gametes. Because of this reproduction is usually sexual however self-fertilization can sometimes occur. Mating sessions often taken several hours in which sperm is shared, garden snails are also one of the species that use '"Love Darts"' in mating. | Members of Cornu aspersum are hermaphrodites, meaning they produce both male and female gametes. Because of this reproduction is usually sexual however self-fertilization can sometimes occur. Mating sessions often taken several hours in which sperm is shared, garden snails are also one of the species that use ''"Love Darts"'' in mating. | ||
==Habitat== | ==Habitat== | ||
Revision as of 16:36, 23 April 2022
Cornu Aspersum or otherwise going by the common name of garden snail, it is likely the most widely known species of all terrestrial mollusks. It is in the family Helicidae which includes many of the most common land snails. It used to be under the classification Helix Aspersa, however the newer classification groups it into the genus Cornu
It is widely regarded as a garden pest due to its accidental introduction into many areas, however in some parts of the world it is also desired as a food item.
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Stylommatophora
Family: Helicidae
Genus: Cornu
Species: Cornu Aspersum
Description
Adults have a thin but hard calcareous shell that can be between 1-1.5 inches in diameter and 1-1.375 inches high. Their shells can vary in color and shade but are typically a reticulated pattern of dark brown, brownish-golden, or chestnut with yellow stripes, flecks, or streaks. The body of the garden snail is soft, slimy, and brownish-gray in color. Its soft body is able to be fully retracted into its shell which it does whenever it is inactive and or feels threatened. Another mechanism it uses when threatened or injured or badly irritated, the snail produces a defensive froth of mucus that might repel some enemies or overwhelm aggressive small ants and other bugs of that nature.
Unlike other species within the class gastropoda, garden snails do not have a operculum which is a type of seal certain mollusks use in order to keep in moisture and for defense from small predators. Instead during dry or cold weather garden snails seal the aperture of the shell with a thin membrane of dried mucus; the term for such a membrane is epiphragm.
Life Cycle
Members of Cornu aspersum are hermaphrodites, meaning they produce both male and female gametes. Because of this reproduction is usually sexual however self-fertilization can sometimes occur. Mating sessions often taken several hours in which sperm is shared, garden snails are also one of the species that use "Love Darts" in mating.