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The gastropod shell is part of the body of a gastropod or snail, a kind of mollusc. The shell is an exoskeleton, which protects from predators, mechanical damage, and dehydration, but also serves for muscle attachment and calcium storage.
Most snails possess rightward-pointing shells, but there are a few whose shells are oriented toward the left. And in some species, the shell can coil in either direction. If you were to cut open a snail shell, you'd notice several main layers in the cross-section.
Gastropod - Shell Structure, Anatomy, Diversity: The typical snail has a calcareous shell coiled in a spiral pattern around a central axis called the columella. Modifications and ornamentations of basic shells are widely variable among species.
A wide range of different families of snails with a variety of artistically coiled shells all originated from one species of snail. Most snails look as though they turn about their centers in a clockwise direction, that is, as if they always turn to the right.
A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name snail is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have a coiled shell that is large enough for the animal to retract completely into.
While snails evolved a shell as a form of protection, slugs then lost that shell to adjust to a whole new way of living. For snails their shell is with them from their first moments in their egg. Once they hatch, these tiny translucent creatures are already recognisably snails.
The external anatomy of a snail is easily recognized by the presence of the shell, which serves as both protection and a mobile home for these creatures. The shell is primarily composed of calcium carbonate, contributing to its strength and durability.