Organism Physiology Paper
BIO 101
10/27/2012
Hossam Ashour

An organism that I had always found interesting to learn about is a snail. A snail, along with other organisms including clams, mussels, slugs, octopuses, squids and oysters are all in the same group of invertebrates called molluscs. There are two types of molluscs, land and marine molluscs. The purpose of this paper is to identify how molluscs evolve physiologically to become suited to its environment. Molluscs are soft-bodied animals, but most are protected by a hard shell (Dr. Anthoni, 2007). Some molluscs have internal shells that are internal that eventually fall off during the evolution process. One thing that seemed to intrigue me was how snails eat and survive. Snails, like many other molluscs have an organ call radula used to scoop up food. Snails use the radula to cut food into smaller pieces before eating it.
In the diagram, the main organs shown are the heart, kidney, lung, genitals, stomach and the liver. One of three main parts of molluscs is the visceral mass which is where most of the internal organs are located. A snail falls under one of three major groups of a mollusc called gastropods. Most of these animals have a protected shell.
A snail’s internal organs include the following: lung, digestive organs, a kidney, liver and reproductive organs which most were shown in the diagram of a mollusc. It can be very dangerous for a snail in terms of surviving and evolving. Due to their small size and slow mobility, they have to constantly protect themselves which is why they have the outer shell. Since the rest of the body is very soft and slimy, they must have a hard shell if they are going to survive the elements in the world around them (snail-world.com, 2012) The shell is also used to protect them from being eaten by other animals, however because the shell is easily cracked, humans may easily step on a snail and crack its shell. Also, it is a snail’s nature to retain moisture to prevent their bodies from drying out. Although snails are slow, they are also created very strong to haul up to 50 times of its weight. The average life span of a snail is 5 to 10 years and some have been known to live up to 15 years.
In the evolution process, water snails eat algae to survive whereas land snails eat plants to survive. This small creature does not require much food in order to survive. The only sense that snails have is the smelling sense which I what helps them find food. The shell that they carry with them is also known as their shelter. As the snail grows bigger so does its shell making it easier for the snail to fit inside. Snails use their foot in order to move. When they are moving, the produce and leave behind a slimy mucus trail. The mucus helps the snail move without injuring itself. Snails breathe through a cavity called visceral.
In my research I learned that snails are a friendly animal that does not require much to survive and easily adapts to its environment. The life span of a snail was longer than I originally assumed however because they are so small and can easily protect themselves from danger, it would make sense that they can live longer