Nutrition
According to Cleveland P. Hickman, Jr., most pulmonates are
mostly herbivores, but they sometimes will include earthworms
and other snails in their diet (Hickman 2012). Fumonelix
orestes is considered part of the group pulmonata, because
Fumonelix orestes develops lungs instead of gills. Snails
all possess a special feeding device called a radula
(Hickman
2012). The radula is the most important part for feeding in
gastropods. The radula, also, has other uses other than
feeding such as part of the act of mating.
As describing
by Hickman, the radula is a rasping, protrusible, tongue-like
organ (Hickman 2012). The radula is essentially a
tongue-like membrane with backward teeth that is used by
gastropods as a primary feeding tool. In pulmonates, the
radula is used to scrape food, such as plant material, off
objects (Hickman 2012). According to Gary M. Barker, most polygrids live under dead logs, leaves, and stones
(Barker
1939). Their diet is of micro fungi residing on leaf
litter in forests (Barker 1939). Most polygrids have
a small, spheroidal buccal mass, and also their odontognathic
jaw is strongly ribbed, with tooth-shaped lower margin
(Barker
1939).