Nutrition
The
Gastrocopta procera eats by using its radula, a
muscle containing thousands of tiny sharp teeth used to scrape
up food. G.
procera primarily eat dead decaying detritus along with
green vegetation during the growing season.
In early spring there is a limited amount of food
available so they typically resort to eating leaves and decaying
matter from the past fall. Fungi and algae on the decaying
leaves are common meals for G. procera.
The G. procera is different compared to other
snails because it is not nocturnal.
It feeds during the day and goes into hiding during the
night (Nordsieck,
R).
The
digestive system of the G. procera and other land snails
is quite simple.
There are salivary glands on both sides of the stomach that help
break down food particles after ingestion.
The intestine is long and reaches into the visceral sac.
The hepatopancreas takes over the functions of the liver
and pancreas and digestion is finished at the anus.
The
G. procera has an open circulatory system which pumps
‘blood’ or hemolymph into a series of cavities and sinuses to
exchange gases for respiration.
The heart is contained within a cavity called the
pericardium and pumps blood out to cover internal organs. Snails
like the G. procera move so slow because they have an
open circulatory system.
It is very difficult, with an open circulatory system,
for blood to move quickly for fast gas exchange which in turn,
limits the snails speed (Snail Anatomy).