Nutrition
Helisoma trivolvis
are heterotrophs. This means they depend on other organisms for
their nourishment. They graze on biocover that
grows on rocks, such as plants and algae (Smith, 1989). Most Pulmonates are herbivorous in gereral. The way
these snails acquire
nutrients is through a structure called a
radula. A radula is made of chitinous
material and it is
expelled from the snail to scrape their food from surfaces
(Smith, 1989). Think of it as
a tongue with
little teeth on it and it's expelled from
the
buccal cavity
of the snail when it needs to feed. Food is digested in the
stomach or by digestive glands. The ramshorn snail has an
advanced circulatory system that helps deliver nutrients to all
parts of its body. Waste is eliminated from the body by the
snail blowing water or air powerfully from it's lung (Hickman, 2009).
Next, check out how these snails reproduce by going to the
reproduction page.