Nutrition
Although there is not a great amount of information on this specific species, we can generalize how the Class Gastropoda obtains its nutrition.
Organisms in this class are typically herbivores consuming a large amount of plant-based food. The diet of a terrestrial snail includes predominantly plants, but also contains fungi, animal matter, and soil (Carnegie, 2009). Other forms of nourishment include decaying vegetation, leaf litter, wood, and bark (Dourson, 2010). Now that you know what this snail eats, lets take a look at how they obtain their food.
Patera indianorum uses sensory organs such as chemoreceptors on their tentacles to scavenge for food (Carnegie, 2009). Olfaction is the snail's primary sensory organ used to find food (NatureServe, 2012). When the snail finds food it first touches it with its mouth and then uses its radula, a membrane covered with a series of chitinous teeth, for grinding or rasping the food particles (Hickman et al., 2009). Digestion is extracellular and occurs in the stomach and/or digestive glands (Hickman et al., 2009). Depending on the type of food, the entire process can take a a few minutes to an hour (Dourson, 2010). Patera indianorum has a semi-closed circulatory system containing a heart with one ventricle and one auricle (Illinois Department of Natural Resources, 2012). Because this organism has a semi-closed system, it needs to be efficient with its movement.
Movement is kept to a minimum, and they typically travel on a scale of centimeters to meters to get to a food source (Natureserve, 2012). Since movement is such an effortful process the snail usually scavenges for food during the night and when damp conditions are present because this allows for easier movement (Carnegie, 2009).
Visit the Reproduction Page
Go to the Home Page