Habitat

Where can you find Inflectarius edentatus? Did you know snails prefer cloudy days over sunny days? (Bourquin, 2000).

 

Inflectarius edentatus is a land snail that falls under the Polygyridae family and Gastropoda class. Since there is not much information regarding Inflectarius edentatus, many of the habitat facts below pertain to the Polygyridae family and the Gastropoda class.  Inflectarius edentatus is found extensively throughout North America (Auffenberg, 1989).Its closely related relatives in the Mesodon genus are found in spruce-fir and northern hardwood forests, river bluffs, ravines, rock ledges on cliffs, in many states in North America, in the Midwest, South, and even the East coast (Florida Museum of Natural History, 2011)

Gastropods tend to stay in the same habitat for their lives unless they are scavenging for food or a mate to reproduce with. Terrestrial snails live in moist, shady environments because living by water helps the snail find food and moisture prevents them from drying out, which is a primary threat for them.  They tend to live in the same areas where oak, maple, hickory, and sycamore trees are, along with rich and moist soil (Michigan Natural Features Inventory, 2007). Cliffs in this environment, and dogwood trees’ leaves and berries contain calcium which aids in the formation and maintenance of their shells (Michigan Natural Features Inventory, 2007).

Some threats to gastropods include forest fires, logging, mine exploration, and herbicide/pesticide spraying (Lowe et al., 1990). Birds and hedgehogs prey on snails, which in turn are herbivores (Lowe et al., 1990). Other animals that live in the same environment as Gastropods eat other terrestrial snails, small ground rodents, snakes, insects, salamanders, beetles, and ferns (Lowe et al., 1990). Land snails also eat leaves, mushrooms, fruit, and many other kinds of plant material they find (Lowe et al., 1990). Mollusks can be infected with parasitic worms (such as nematodes and mites) and serve as intermediate hosts for trematode worms (Lowe et al., 1990).



Now let's look at some adaptations of Inflectarius edentatus.

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