Carychium exiguum
(Say, 1822)- Obese Thorn
Nutrition
Nutrition for the Obese Thorn is made up of herbivorous food like the decaying leaves and wood which is found in its moist forested habitat which would be composed of a moist mud bottom rich in decaying matter. The way it would obtain its nutrition is by the snail crawling over the moist surface and allowing the proboscis which is a muscular organ used for feeding purposes. The proboscis is important in the feeding process because it folds over the section of land that is being grazed upon by the snail and then the jaws open and the radula is protruded by the odontophore being thrust forward allowing the radula to give a strong scrape. The odontophore is cartilage that move the radula (Hickman 2009). As said before in the adaptation page the Carychium exiguum (Say, 1822) has one internal tooth and an arched jaw that is specific to its species. This feeding process (the opening of the jaw and the protrusion of the radula) is repeated rythmetically as the snail crawls which could be as much as 24-64 times a minute! (Dillon 2000). Check out the next page to see where you can find more information on the Obese Thorn on the references page.
Image of a snail eating leaves for nutrition. A typical meal for an Obese Thorn.