Editing Snail (section)

==Diet==

[[File:Snail eating a leaf.ogg|thumb|Snail eating a leaf]]

The average snail's diet varies greatly depending on the species, including different feeding styles from [[Herbivore|herbivores]] to highly specialized feeders and [[Parasitism|parasites]].<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> Some snails like the [[Euglandina rosea]], or rosy wolfsnail, are [[Carnivore|carnivorous]] and prey on other snails.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Clifford |first1=Kavan T. |last2=Gross |first2=Liaini |last3=Johnson |first3=Kwame |last4=Martin |first4=Khalil J. |last5=Shaheen |first5=Nagma |last6=Harrington |first6=Melissa A. |date=2003 |title=Slime-trail tracking in the predatory snail, Euglandina rosea. |url=https://doi.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0735-7044.117.5.1086 |journal=Behavioral Neuroscience |language=en |volume=117 |issue=5 |pages=1086–1095 |doi=10.1037/0735-7044.117.5.1086 |pmid=14570557 |issn=1939-0084}}</ref> However, most land snails are herbivores or [[Omnivore|omnivores]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Mollusks : Carnegie Museum of Natural History |url=https://www.carnegiemnh.org/science/mollusks/dietbehavior.html |access-date=2024-12-04 |website=www.carnegiemnh.org}}</ref> Among land snails, there is also a large variation in preference for specific food. For example, ''[[Cepaea nemoralis]]'', or the grove snail, prefers dead plant material over fresh herbs or grasses. Age may also impact food preference, with adult grove snails showing a significantly larger preference for dead plant material than juvenile grove snails.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Williamson |first1=P. |last2=Cameron |first2=R. A. D. |date=1976 |title=Natural Diet of the Landsnail Cepaea Nemoralis |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3543468 |journal=Oikos |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=493–500 |doi=10.2307/3543468 |jstor=3543468 |bibcode=1976Oikos..27..493W |issn=0030-1299}}</ref> Other snails, like the generalist herbivore ''[[Arianta arbustorum]]'', or copse snail, choose their meals based on availability, consuming a mix of [[Arthropod|arthropods]], wilted flowers, fresh and decayed plant material, and soil.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Speiser |first1=Bernhard |last2=Rowell-Rahier |first2=Martine |date=1991 |title=Effects of Food Availability, Nutritional Value, and Alkaloids on Food Choice in the Generalist Herbivore Arianta arbustorum (Gastropoda: Helicidae) |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3545495 |journal=Oikos |volume=62 |issue=3 |pages=306–318 |doi=10.2307/3545495 |jstor=3545495 |bibcode=1991Oikos..62..306S |issn=0030-1299}}</ref>

Generally, land snails are most active at night due to the damp weather. The humid nighttime air minimizes water [[evaporation]] and is beneficial to land snails because their movement requires [[mucus]], which is mostly composed of water.<ref name=":0" /> In addition to aiding movement, mucus plays a vital role in transporting food from the [[gill]] to the mouth, cleansing the [[Mantle (mollusc)|mantle cavity]], and trapping food before ingestion.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Davies |first1=Mark S. |title=Mucus from Marine Molluscs |date=1998-01-01 |volume=34 |pages=1–71 |editor-last=Blaxter |editor-first=J. H. S. |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0065288108602102 |access-date=2024-12-04 |publisher=Academic Press |doi=10.1016/s0065-2881(08)60210-2 |last2=Hawkins |first2=S. J. |series=Advances in Marine Biology |isbn=978-0-12-026134-5 |editor2-last=Southward |editor2-first=A. J. |editor3-last=Tyler |editor3-first=P. A.}}</ref>