Roy Lister
Common Garden Snail (roylister@adam.com.au)
Common garden snail
Ever notice that snails only come out after it has rained, I did. I have heard that it is a fact but I do know that the ground is always wet before the come out. Did a little digging to find out at CSIRO www.ento.csiro.au/education/allies/gastropoda.html but I am still non the wiser.
All I do know about them is that they eat my seedlings, leave the weeds, and taste really nice cooked in garlic butter.
If you don't want to load another link here is a part quote from the CSIRO website:
"Slugs and snails belong to a larger group (or Phylum) known as the Mollusca. Molluscs come in many different forms but are predominantly categorised as soft-bodied animals without body segmentation that often have an external shell made of calcareous material.
Snails and slugs are known as gastropods, which mean 'stomach foot'. This describes the way in which the body and internal organs of slugs and snails has been twisted back so that the stomach lies above the large fleshy foot of these animals. The head is at one end of this foot the snail or slug moves by gliding along a surface of mucus or slime that is produced from glands on the foot. All gastropods have a well-developed head with eyes and 1-2 pairs of tentacles.
Life Cycle
Most gastropods are hermaphrodites, which means that each animal has both male and female reproductive organs in the same body. When two individuals snails or slugs meet they exchange bundles of sperm, usually via a dart into the tissue of the other. Eggs are then usually laid in crevices in the soil or under rocks, while some species may give birth to live young.
Feeding
Most gastropods are herbivores and scavengers feeding on fungi, dead animal material and plant matter such as leaves, stems, bulbs and algae. A few are carnivorous and may prey on other snails. All gastropods feed by using a radula, which is a tongue-like structure covered by rows of rasping teeth.
........End of quote
This image is available for purchase. Please contact me by leaving a message on Flickr.
Common Garden Snail (roylister@adam.com.au)
Common garden snail
Ever notice that snails only come out after it has rained, I did. I have heard that it is a fact but I do know that the ground is always wet before the come out. Did a little digging to find out at CSIRO www.ento.csiro.au/education/allies/gastropoda.html but I am still non the wiser.
All I do know about them is that they eat my seedlings, leave the weeds, and taste really nice cooked in garlic butter.
If you don't want to load another link here is a part quote from the CSIRO website:
"Slugs and snails belong to a larger group (or Phylum) known as the Mollusca. Molluscs come in many different forms but are predominantly categorised as soft-bodied animals without body segmentation that often have an external shell made of calcareous material.
Snails and slugs are known as gastropods, which mean 'stomach foot'. This describes the way in which the body and internal organs of slugs and snails has been twisted back so that the stomach lies above the large fleshy foot of these animals. The head is at one end of this foot the snail or slug moves by gliding along a surface of mucus or slime that is produced from glands on the foot. All gastropods have a well-developed head with eyes and 1-2 pairs of tentacles.
Life Cycle
Most gastropods are hermaphrodites, which means that each animal has both male and female reproductive organs in the same body. When two individuals snails or slugs meet they exchange bundles of sperm, usually via a dart into the tissue of the other. Eggs are then usually laid in crevices in the soil or under rocks, while some species may give birth to live young.
Feeding
Most gastropods are herbivores and scavengers feeding on fungi, dead animal material and plant matter such as leaves, stems, bulbs and algae. A few are carnivorous and may prey on other snails. All gastropods feed by using a radula, which is a tongue-like structure covered by rows of rasping teeth.
........End of quote
This image is available for purchase. Please contact me by leaving a message on Flickr.