Glyphyalinia wheatleyi

Adaptation

 

Moving to land is an evolutionary step that G. wheatleyi and other Gastropods have successfully made. Many adaptations have been evolved to enable land snails to thrive competitively in a terrestrial setting. They use their muscular foot to roam the land they thrive on and their coiled shell is used as a protection device against drying out and predators (EOL).  In order to feed, land snails use a structure known as a radula to scrape their food from rocks and other surfaces (EOL).  Probably the most important adaptation was the switch from gills to a “lung” that breathes air.  Once on land the gill would collapse and be inadequate structure without the flow of water, so the development of this sac-like structure that resides within the cavity of the mantle was extremely important (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2011).

HOME

Find out how some of these adaptations aid in Nutrition!