Duncan gastropoda biography

Gastropods are one of the main divisions of the Phylum Mollusca. They include animals which bear a coiled or uncoiled shell, and others, called slugs which have no hard parts.

Typical of the Class Gastropoda are the land and freshwater snails, the many conchs, whelks, limpets and periwinkles.

Duncan gastropoda biography

Originally they were entirely marine, but especially in Mesozoic and Cenozoic times large numbers of them became adapted for life in fresh waters and on the land. A large majority of the group remained in the sea. The average size of the shells of the group is approximately 25 millimeters in length or diameter, but fully grown adults of different kinds range from mm to approximately 60 cm.

The land snails, Helix, and the shallow water marine Buccinum are familiar examples of gastropods.

In each case the animal is an elongate, flat-soled creature which carries a spirally coiled shell on its back. The tip of the spiral shell points backwards, and the opening into the largest, last-formed t