Millerelix forfeuillianan
Nutrition
Stylommatophorans have the capability to use their short,
ventral tentacles to help them sense the direction of
their food's whereabouts (Craig et al. 2004). When approaching their food, they tend to
use their radula to scrape or grind leaf litter or other
material like soil that they pick up from the ground (Craig et al. 2004).
Some of the foods many Polygyridae choose to consume are
mosses, decaying organic matter, dirt, leaf litter and other
substances depending on their environment because they are
herbivores (Hickman et al. 2012). They are normally referred to as scavengers for this
reason (Hickman et al. 2012). Terrestrial snails digest these foods
that become great fertilizers for their environment.
Snails process of transporting food and water internally
starts from entering through the peristome (mouth) (Craig et al.
2004). The food then moves to the crop to help with storage of
food before it becomes digested (Craig et al. 2004). After
the food has been held in the crop for a period of time, it then
travels to the stomach where the food can be further broken down into smaller units (Craig
et al. 2004). The digestive gland is an accessory organ
that aids in the digestive process by providing digestive
enzymes and ways to promote absorption in the stomach and
intestine (Craig et al. 2004). After the food has passed
through the stomach, it then travels through the intestine where
most of the absorption of nutrients takes place, eventually
leading waste to exit the body through the anus (Craig et al. 2004).
Millerelix forfeuillianan has a direct life cycle and does not need a host at any
moment in their lifetime, which makes them an independent
species (Hickman et al. 2012). Since Millerelix
will not be receiving nutrients from a different species at any
time in their life, they must obtain nutrients from their
habitat in the forest. Some mollusks do, however, serve as a host for
many parasitic species that have an indirect lifecycle such as
the blood fluke (Schistosoma mansoni) and the sheep
liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica) (Hickman et al. 2012).
Millerelix forfeuillianan has a open circulatory
system to aid in movement of obtaining food. An open circulatory system is a system that does not
possess a true heart or capillaries and instead contains blood
vessels that work to force the fluid to the rest of the body
(Hickman et al. 2012). Animals with this type
of circulatory system are typically slow moving since it is
difficult to get oxygen to the muscles responsible for movement
at a necessary rate. The fluid, which is known as hemolymph, is
only washing over the organs and creating a
low pressure system, except for by the heart (Hickman et al.
2012). This causes the species to not be
as active, making it more of a challenge to obtain food that is
not within close reach.