What are the feet of a snail called? What are the teeth of a snail called?

Snails are a group of animals that include many different families and genera. They are common on tropical islands. Snails are the most common molluscs on land and have high edible and medicinal value. What are the snail's feet called? What are the snail's teeth called? Where does the snail's mucus come from? The following article provides a detailed introduction to the dwarf snail.

Contents of this article

1. What is the snail's foot called?

2. What are the teeth of a snail called?

3. Where does snail mucus come from?

What is a snail's foot called?

Snail is not the name of a biological classification, but generally refers to all terrestrial species of the class Gastropoda. In general, Western languages ​​do not distinguish between aquatic snails and terrestrial snails. In Chinese, snails only refer to terrestrial species, while snails in a broad sense also include giant shield slugs. Snails are an animal that includes many different families and genera. They feed on plants and lay eggs in the soil or on trees. They are more common on tropical islands, but some also live in cold regions. Arboreal species are brightly colored, while terrestrial species are usually several similar colors, usually with stripes. The largest species are the crystal snails in Africa, most of which are over 20 cm. Several species of the European giant snail genus are often used as delicacies, especially in France. Snails are the most common molluscs on land, and they have high edible and medicinal value.

What are the teeth of a snail called?

Radula. Snails have an astonishing number of teeth; they are the animals with the most teeth in the world. Although their mouths are about the size of a needle tip, they have 25,600 teeth. There is a small hole a little below the middle of the snail's tentacles, which is its mouth. Inside is a serrated tongue, which scientists call the "radula." The surface of the radula is like a file used to rub ginger powder, with some small keratinous teeth neatly arranged. When the snail eats, it uses this "small file" to grind up the leaves of plants and then eats them bit by bit. Although its teeth are very small and cannot be seen with the naked eye, they are very powerful. Even if you put the snail in a cardboard box that is harder than its body, it can bite through the cardboard and crawl out.

Where does snail mucus come from?

Snails are mollusks with soft gastropods. While crawling, their gastropods secrete mucus to prevent the gastropod muscles from being injured by direct friction with the ground. The mucus acts as a cushion to protect the gastropods. At the same time, the slipperiness of the mucus helps the snail crawl. For example, snails can crawl on knife edges and secrete more mucus when crawling on rough surfaces, which shows that mucus protects the gastropods and helps crawling.