Research into Snails

I chose to do my hybrid on a snail because I was drawn to the different contrasting textures, between the slimey foot and the hard, smooth shell.  There are so many different coloured snails in different environments and so many different shapes and sizes that I thought it would give me the freedom to create something very unique. I did some initial research into snails below to expand my knowledge of them. 

Anatomy of a Snail.
NATIONAL GARDEN RESEARCH, 2015. All About Slugs [5 November 2015]. Available from: http://www.allaboutslugs.com/slug-and-snail-science/slug-anatomy/

Snails are a type of mollusc called gastropods, which includes snails, slugs and whelks; they have a coiled shell and have a large muscular foot which allows them to move. There are thousands of types of snails, living on land, in salt water and in fresh water, all with a differently coloured and shaped shell. Snails can be so small they can only just be seen by the naked eye or be as long as 60 cm.

Snails move really slowly; an adult land snail generally moves at only 1 mm per second. They have glands which produce a slime to act as a lubricant to allow them to move more easily without injuring their muscular foot on the ground; this is left as a trail behind the snail as it moves. This slime also helps the snails to attach themselves to different surfaces and stops their bodies drying out.

Land Snail

GINA, 2012. Our New Classroom Pet: Snails. In: Play-Based Classroom. 29 May 2012 [5 November 2015]. Available from: http://play-basedclassroom.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/our-new-classroom-pet-snails.html

Sea Snail.
ADMIN, 2010. New Pain Relief Pill From Sea Snail's Saliva. In: Life and Pain [5 November 2015]. Available from:  http://lifeandpain.com/2010/07/30/new-pain-relief-pill-from-sea-snails-saliva/

Most snails have eyes, with different types of snails having their eyes in different places. Land snails have two pairs of tentacles, one long and one short, and each long tentacle has an eye on the end, so the snail can look around by moving its tentacles; these are seen as two black dots on the end. The upper tentacles can be retracted into the body of the snail if they are feeling attacked. The snail's mouth is located under the smaller tentacles and the tongue inside the mouth is covered in teeth so that it can munch on things harder than itself. A sea snail, however, has its eyes at the base of its tentacles and therefore can't move them around in the same way. However, a land snails most important sense is its sense of smell, which is uses to find food. They have olfactory neurons at the end of the smaller set of tentacles either side of their mouths, which they stretch out in front of them as they move. Snails do not have ears and cannot hear.

Different types of snails eat different types of food depending on their natural habitat; land snails mainly eat dying plants, but also sometimes fruit and living vegetation. A snail eats by tearing up and grinding its food with its teeth, which are on a hard ribbon like organ which looks like a tongue called a radula. Snails can have just a few to thousands of teeth, which are replaced over time as they are worn away.

References:
Goldsmith, O., 1990. The Illustrated History Of The Natural World. New York: Arch Cape Press

SNAIL WORLD, 2014. Facts about Snails [5 November 2015]. Available from: http://www.snail-world.com/

HOWSTUFFWORKS, 2015. Snail [5 November 2015]. Available from: http://animals.howstuffworks.com/marine-life/snail-info.htm

COPPOLINO, M., 2015. Frequently Asked Questions [5 November 2015]. Available from: www.thesnailwrangler.com/education/frequently-asked-questions/