Daedalochila polita - Suave Liptooth
Adaptation
The adaptations of Daedalochila are very minor, but important to their environment. These adaptations have occurred mainly as survival techniques and the snails that were not able to make these evolutionary adaptations over time were weeded out of the population.
Terrestrial land snails are able to survive in unfavorable weather conditions because they have made some key adaptations. They are nocturnal for the most part and usually only come out during the day following rain fall, which provides enough coolness and moisture for the snail to be mobile (Burch, 1962). During drought spells, the snail will cover the aperture of their shells with an operculum, which is a mucous sheeth (Burch, 1962). The hardening of the epiphragm then takes place, preventing desiccation, and can last from weeks to years (Burch, 1962).
The southern Genus of Daedalochila have adapted over the years to become noticeably flattened and tightly coiled, ranging from 5-10mm in size (Dourson, 2010). Daedalochila have acquired two to three teeth in the lip compared to the Polygyra that have one parietal tooth and no teeth within the lip (Pilsbry, 1940). Daedalochila use their arrangement of teeth within their aperture to prevent predatory attacks (Dourson, 2010).
Most of the land snails in the family Polygyridae, the shells of the snails are yellow to brown without any distinct markings on them (Pilsbry, 1940). In the subgenus Daedalochila the parietal callus is raised, the umbilicus is narrow, there is a irregularly formed parietal tooth which is deeply penetrating and U-shaped (Pilsbry, 1940).
The classification of the Daedalochila polita can also help give insight to the ancestral route of this snail.
To view more photos of the Genus Daedalochila visit Jaxshells.org.