Snails, or, as they are also called, gastropods, belong to the class of shell molluscs. This class includes approximately 100,000 species of invertebrates.
The body of snails is asymmetric, it consists of a head, torso and legs with a special crawling sole. By contracting special muscles, the snail crawls. By secreting mucus, it makes it easier for itself to move. The leg and head are completely retracted into the shell, which has a spiral structure. Slugs have no shell.
Love game
Snails breed no more than once a year. The desire to find a pair is expressed in the special behavior of the mollusk: while moving, the snail begins to make frequent stops, periodically freezes. When two individuals, ready to reproduce, meet, they begin a love game. So, both snails stretch their heads, swinging from one side to the other and touching their soles. They touch each other with their mouths and tentacles. Then the snails are pressed tightly with their soles and lie there for some time. After a long game, the mating process begins.
Intercourse
Snails are hermaphrodite, have both male and female genital organs. With intercourse, mutual fertilization occurs. The snails shoot "love arrows" of lime at the partner's body. They are pushed out at the tension of a certain muscle from the genital opening, piercing the partner's body. After that, the arrows dissolve, the fertilization process takes place directly.
Some types of snails are dioecious, but it is impossible to distinguish them by their appearance.
The appearance of offspring
Land snails lay their eggs in a small hole in the ground. Usually their number is from 30 to 40 pieces. Aquarium snails for breeding crawl out of the water onto the walls of the aquarium. The eggs are attached to the glass in the air in the form of a bunch of grapes. Make sure that the snail does not crawl out, without water it will quickly die.
Some species of snails are viviparous. For example, melanias do not lay eggs. They reproduce in two ways:
- parthenogenetic - one female is enough;
- amphimic - the male participates.
In the aquarium, it is necessary to control the population size, under favorable conditions the reproduction process is very fast. Open-water snails should not be kept in an aquarium. The mucus will quickly pollute the water, and the snail will eat up all the vegetation.
How the pregnancy process affects the snail
During pregnancy, snail growth slows down or stops altogether. Eggshells and offspring shells are composed of calcium, which is from the mother's body. After breeding, one third of all snails die.
