Image above is of a Millerelix forfeuillianan shell. Used with permission from Dr. Frank Anderson. (http://mypage.siu.edu/mlcopp/images/spp_images/millerelix_dorfeuilliana.jpg).

Reproduction

Snails of the family Polygyridae usually require a long process to obtain their potential mate, with respect to other types of snails. Often it is found that a land snail may stalk and eat the mucus trail of a mating prospect (Craig et al. 2004). Most snails prefer to mate after a rain when their habitat is more moist or if they generally live in a dry environment (Hickman et al. 2012). The optimal time for mating is during the night or early morning (Craig et al. 2004). Snails are monoecious meaning that they contain reproductive structures that produce both sperm and eggs (Hickman et al. 2012).

Millerelix forfeuillianan has a special adaption of an elongated penis used for reproductive purposes but lacks an enlarged vas deferens (Walsh et al. 2006). During the mating process, snails will exchange spermatophore and the sperm will enter into both snails to be fertilized (Hickman et al.). The spermatophore is a capsule that contains live sperm (Hickman et al. 2012). Once a land snail has fertilized eggs, the eggs will grow until ready to hatch; land snails generally hatch their eggs into a hole in the ground. The eggs will hatch into larvae that look very similar to the adult snail which is known as a direct life cycle (Hickman et al. 2012). According to Hickman, during development the shell of the sail grows larger by adding calcium carbonate to the mouth end of the body in a twisting direction (2004). When this twisting occurs it causes torsion in snails, which is a twisting of the body and organs to fit into the shell that is derived from coiled and torted ancestors (Hickman et al. 2012).

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