Anatomy

 

The Shell

    The species Triodopsis vulgata the shell has a very distinct formation.  The shape of the shell is either globose or discoidal, flattened and contains approximately 7-8 whorls.  As you can see in this photo, the shell of T. vulgata includes denticles (teeth) on the inside.  This leaves the aperture (opening) very small.  The genus Triodopsis means "three tooth", therefore organisms in this genus include three teeth inside the aperture.

(Goodrich, 1944)

 

Torsion

Image of Gastropoda anatomy from wikipedia.org

Snails have a distinguishing characteristic of the visceral mass called torsion.  In this process the visceral mass and mantle of the snail is turned 180 degrees, so that the anus is situated over the head.  This creates a problem for waste materials, since the waste is expelled over the head. (Hickman, 2009)

 

Eyes

In T. vulgata there are two pair of tentacles, one that extends to the front of the head and one that is situated on the top of the head.  In the class Gastropoda, the eye spots are either located at the base or top of the anterior tentacles.  In T. vulgata the eye spots are located at the top of the anterior tentacles, as seen in the picture to the left.

(Encyclopedia Britannica)

Image showing T. vulgata upside down. 
Here the anterior tentacles are the ones
closer to the bottom of the picture.

 

 

To continue your journey to the Habitat page, follow the snail!