Physical Characteristics

Gastropods as a whole consist of three main parts: the mantle, the foot, and the visceral mass (Eisenhour et al. 2007).  The mantle is a flap of skin on either side of the body.  The mantle is also the layer which secretes the shell.  In pulmonates, such as G. rhoadsi, the mantle is specialized, containing an air-breathing lung (Eisenhour et al. 2007).  The foot is a large mass of muscle which is used for movement through the environment.  Lastly, the visceral mass is the body cavity which contains the internal organs.  These internal organs include a heart, intestines, and an excretory system known as nephridia (Eisenhour et al., 2007).

As Grimm explains, G. rhoadsi has a 4.5 to 5.3 mm wide shell.  G. rhoadsi also has a thin, translucent shell that has a glistening or shining appearance. The shell has a helix shape to it and has 4 to 7 whorls.  A whorl is one turn on the coil of the shell (The World of Snails, 2008). G. rhoadsi has an evident umbilicus which varies from wide to small.  An umbilicus is a hole or depression in the shell which the whorls spin around (The World of Snails, 2008).  Sculped glyphs also have a subovate aperture, or a opening in the shell for the body which is almost egg-like in shape.  The lip, or area around the aperture, is thin in G. rhoadsi.  Their overall color is pale yellow-brown to brown (Grimm et al., 2009).

For a list of references, please refer to the references page.


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