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The buccal mass is the first part of the digestive system, and consists of the mouth and pharynx. The mouth includes a radula, and in most cases, also a pair of jaws. The pharynx can be very large, especially in carnivorous species. Many carnivorous species have developed a proboscis, containing the oral cavity, radula, and part of the ...
Pleurotomariidae, common name the "slit snails", is a family of large marine gastropods in the superfamily Pleurotomarioidea of the subclass Vetigastropoda. [1] This family is a very ancient lineage; there were numerous species in the geological past.
Members of the subfamily Pareinae are active, predatory snakes. Many are snail-eating snakes that have asymmetrical lower jaws, allowing them to pry the soft bodies of snails from their spiral shells. One species, Pareas iwasakii, has an average of 17.5 teeth in its left mandible and 25 teeth in its right mandible. They lack teeth on the ...
Snail-eater in action Skull of Pareas iwasakii. P. iwasakii is a snail-eating specialist; [4] even newly hatched individuals feed on snails. [5] It has asymmetric dentition on its jaws, with more teeth on the right mandible (about 25 teeth compared to 15 teeth on the left mandible) which facilitates feeding on snails with dextral (clockwise coiled) shells. [6]
Even a few marine species have lungs. Snails can be found in a very wide range of environments, including ditches, deserts, and the abyssal depths of the sea. 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.
[11] [12] The total number of living species of freshwater snails is about 4,000. [13] Recently extinct species of gastropods (extinct since 1500) number 444, 18 species are now extinct in the wild (but still exist in captivity), and 69 species are "possibly extinct". [14] The number of prehistoric (fossil) species of gastropods is at least ...
Euglandina rosea, the rosy wolfsnail or cannibal snail, is a species of medium-sized to large predatory air-breathing land snail, a carnivorous terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Spiraxidae. [1] This species is a fast and voracious predator, hunting and eating other snails and slugs. [2]
The Trochidae, common name top-snails or top-shells, are a family of various sized sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the subclass Vetigastropoda. This family is commonly known as the top-snails because in many species the shell resembles a toy spinning top .