Gastropoda

Gastropoda

Do you know Class of Gastropoda?

Class of Gastropoda

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Gastropods:

Gastropods are the most diverse groups of mollusks with thousands of species. Estimates of total extant species by many workers range from 40,000 to over 100,000.

How many living marine gastropods are there?

Based on the different sources, living marine gastropods have been estimated to be about 30,000 species. They have adapted to all marine habitats from inter-tidal zone to the deepest ocean basins.

Feeding:

Gastropods use a radula (a hard plate that has teeth) for feeding. Their feeding habits are varied. Some are active carnivores and some are scavengers, herbivores, browsers, detritivores, planktivorses or grazers.

Radula (a hard plate that has teeth) for feeding

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Operculum & Identification :

Many gastropod species have an operculum which is attached to the foot and can consist of carbonate or corneus material. The most essential function of the operculum in gastropods is to allow them to resist desiccation and also act as a protection mechanism or a trapdoor against predators when the snail body is retracted. The examination of operculum can help us in identification specially at the generic level.

Operculum in gastropods

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Anatomy:

Snail Anatomy

Snail Anatomy

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Gastropod Shell Anatomy:

Gastropod Shell Anatomy used for identification.

Gastropod Shell Anatomy

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Taxon Details

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Mollusca

Class: Gastropoda

References:

Image references are already available below each image

Author:

Dr. Nabavi, Seyyed Mohammad Bagher
Professor of marine biology