Nutrition
Daedalochila
hippocrepis
are a species of
Polygyridae that have not been studied at great length and
little is known about feeding habits; however, it is known that
horseshoe liptooth is a herbivorous species of snail. By looking
at some of the other species in the Family Polygyridae it can be
seen that the vast majority of them are mycophagous, or fungi
eating organisms (Blinn, 1963).
When put into a laboratory setting
Daedalochila hippocrepis
have been observed
eating lettuce, tomatoes, and other vegetables, but whether it
is a fungi eating species is yet to be determined (K
Perez 2012, pers.comm.).
At this time it is believed that
Daedalochila hippocreis
feeds on leaf litters in its natural habitat (K
Perez 2012, pers.comm.).
Similar to a majority of the species in the
class Gastropodia,
Daedalochila hippocrepis feeds with a radula. A chitinous,
rasping organ, the radula is used for scraping vegetation or
drilling into prey (Hickman, 2009).
Acting as a conveyer belt, it carries food into the mouth of the
snail. Once food is acquired by the snail’s radula, the snail
must digest the food in order to absorb the nutrients it needs.
From there, ATP is produced, providing the energy the snail
needs in order to carry out its everyday tasks. This process
starts by pulling the food from the radula into the mouth (Hickma
n,
2009). Once
food passes through the mouth it enters the crop, where several different enzymes start the process of
breaking down the food into its most basic components (Hickman,
2009). After the
crop food moves into the stomach where it is broken down
further, it travels through the intestines where the usable
nutrients are absorbed (Hickman, 2009). Excess waste is expelled out of the
anus, located directly above the head, after all of the
nutrients are absorbed (Hickman, 2009). The anus is brought above the head
through a phenomenon that is unique to all gastropods called
torsion, which is a 180 degree twisting of the visceral mass (Hickman,
2009).