Millerelix forfeuillianan
Interactions
Although terrestrial snails can be extremely slow, they still
have the ability to hide from their predators by retracting
themselves inside their calcium carbonate shell (Hickman et al.
2012). This is for protecting their
soft body tissue (Hickman et al. 2012). Without the
characteristic of being hard to find, these snails would be an
easy target to other predators. Unfortunately, many of these
predators have learned to adapt to this barrier by acquiring the
ability to break inside their shell (Snail-world 2012).
The common predators that enjoy eating snails could be leeches,
caterpillars, frogs, snakes or various birds (Snail-world 2012).
These animals still depend on the type of environment they share
with a specific species of snail. Another predator of specific terrestrial land species
would be the Cychrine beetles (Dourson 2010).
Some snails tend to have few interactions with others of their species due to their sluggish moving lifestyle. A unique characteristic snails possess is the idea of using their small, sensory tentacles to follow the slime trails of other snails, which could be a potential mate for the future (Craig et al. 2004). Millerelix forfeuillianan contributes to its food web by providing a nutritional diet for small animals in the Oak-Hickory habitat and has a mutualistic relationship with trees. The forestry provides fallen leaves and organic matter for this species to eat and digest. After digestion the feces are returned to the forest floor to provide nutrients in the soil for trees to utilize.