Editing Snail (section)

== Anatomy ==
Snails have complex organ systems and anatomies that differ greatly from most [[Animal|animals]]. Snails and most other [[Mollusca]] share three anatomical features; the foot, the [[Mantle (mollusc)|mantle]], and the [[radula]].

'''Foot''': The foot is a muscular organ used by [[Gastropoda|Gastropods]] for [[Animal locomotion|locomotion]]. Gastropods' [[Stomach|stomachs]] are located within their foot. Both land and sea snails travel by contracting foot muscles to deform the [[mucus]] layer beneath it into different wave-like patterns.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pegler |first=Sam |date=2018 |title=Snail locomotion |url=https://gfd.whoi.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2018/03/SamPegler_136807.pdf |access-date=October 7, 2024 |website=Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution}}</ref>

'''Mantle''': The mantle is the organ that produces shells for most species of mollusca. In snails, the mantle secretes the shell along the snail shell opening, continuously growing and producing the shell for the entirety of the snail’s life.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-03 |title=Gastropod - Shell Structure, Anatomy, Diversity {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/animal/gastropod/The-shell |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> The mantle creates a compartment known as the mantle cavity and is used by many mollusca as the surface where gas exchange occurs. Snails that use the mantle cavity as a [[lung]] are known as [[Pulmonata|Pulmonate]] snails. Other snails may only have a [[gill]]. Snails in the [[Caenogastropoda]] families like [[Ampullariidae]], have both a gill and a lung.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rodriguez |first1=Cristian |last2=Prieto |first2=Guido I. |last3=Vega |first3=Israel A. |last4=Castro-Vazquez |first4=Alfredo |date=2021-04-14 |title=Morphological grounds for the obligate aerial respiration of an aquatic snail: functional and evolutionary perspectives |journal=PeerJ |volume=9 |pages=e10763 |doi=10.7717/peerj.10763 |doi-access=free |issn=2167-8359 |pmc=8052964 |pmid=33954023}}</ref>

[[Mollusc shell|'''Shell''']]: Snail shells are mainly composed of a mixture of proteins called [[Conchiolin|conchin]], and [[calcium carbonate]]. Conchin is the main component in the outer layer of the shell, known as the [[periostracum]]. The inner layers of the shell are composed of a network of calcium carbonate, conchin, and different mineral salts. The mantle produces the shell through addition around a central axis called the [[Columella (gastropod)|columella]], causing a spiraling pattern.<ref>{{Cite web |title=compound coil |url=https://dnr.illinois.gov/education/wildaboutpages/wildaboutinvertebrates/wildaboutillinoissnails/walscompoundcoil.html |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=dnr.illinois.gov |language=en}}</ref> The spiraling patterns on a snail’s shell are known as coils or [[Whorl|whorls]]. Whorl size generally increases as the snail ages. Size differences in shell size are believed to be mainly influenced by genetic and environmental components. Moister conditions often correlate with larger snails. In larger populations, adult snails attain smaller shell sizes due to the effects of [[Pheromone|pheromones]] on growth rate.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Goodfriend |first=Glenn |date=1986 |title=Variation in Land-snail Shell form and Size and its Causes: a Review |url=https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/article-abstract/35/2/204/1649641 |journal=Systematic Biology |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=204–223 |doi=10.1093/sysbio/35.2.204 |via=Oxford Academic}}</ref>

'''Radula''': The radula is an anatomical structure used by most species of Mollusca for feeding. Gastropods are morphologically highly variable and have diverse feeding strategies. Snails can be [[Herbivore|herbivores]], detritivores, [[Scavenger|scavengers]], [[Parasitism|parasites]], ciliary feeders, or have highly specialized [[predation]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Krings |first1=Wencke |last2=Faust |first2=Taissa |last3=Kovalev |first3=Alexander |last4=Neiber |first4=Marco Thomas |last5=Glaubrecht |first5=Matthias |last6=Gorb |first6=Stanislav |date=July 2019 |title=In slow motion: radula motion pattern and forces exerted to the substrate in the land snail Cornu aspersum (Mollusca, Gastropoda) during feeding |journal=Royal Society Open Science |language=en |volume=6 |issue=7 |pages=190222 |doi=10.1098/rsos.190222 |issn=2054-5703 |pmc=6689628 |pmid=31417728|bibcode=2019RSOS....690222K }}</ref> Nearly all snails utilize a feeding apparatus including the oral structures of one or more jaws and the radula. The radula comprises a chitinous ribbon with teeth arranged in transverse and longitudinal rows.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vortsepneva |first=Elena |date=2023 |title=Main patterns of radula formation and ontogeny in Gastropoda |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jmor.21538 |journal=Journal of Morphology |volume=284 |issue=1 |pages=e21538 |doi=10.1002/jmor.21538 |pmid=36426387 |via=Wiley Online Library}}</ref> The radula continually renews itself during the entire lifespan of a mollusk. The teeth and membrane are continuously synthesized in the radular sac and then shifted forward towards the working zone of the radula. The teeth harden and mineralize during their travel to the working zone. The presence of the radula is common throughout most snail species, but often differs in many characteristics, like the shape, size, and number of [[Odontoblast|odontoblasts]] that form a tooth.