Adaptation

It was difficult to find information regarding adaptations specifically for this species, so I decided to use adaptation information found for the class of  this species, Gastropoda. Within the gastropod group, many adaptations such as shell coil rearrangement (resulting in  better weight distribution of shell), as well as the loss of an organ ,the right gill (which is most likely due to carrying the heavy coiled shell), have taken place. According to fossil evidence, mollusks originated in the sea, and most have remained there, however gastropods invaded land and may have been among the first animals to do so(Eisenhour et al. 2007).Traveling on land would require adaptations for locomotion, such as the molluscan foot, (which may also be adapted for attachment), as well as  a modified lung with a pneumostome(opening to lung) to provide better access to oxygen. All species that belong to the order Stylommatophora breathe air and lack an operculum to seal off their apertures and protect themselves from the outside environment(Luchtel and Deyrup-Olsen 2001),as a result, they are no longer adapted to live in a totally aquatic environment.

Living on land, gastropods are able to sustain their nutritional needs quite successfully by use of a special organ for assistance. Click on the nutrition link listed on the left side of this page, so that you can learn more about nutrition of the gastropods.