Page 64 - World of Animals - Issue #33

Giant African land snail

Inside the giant Lung

African land snail

There’s more going on beneath that shell than
meets the eye. Giant African land snails have
developed amazing anatomies to keep their soft
bodies and internal organs protected

Pneumostome
The pneumostome
(not shown here) is the
snail’s breathing pore,
and allows air to enter
the creature’s single
Cerebral ganglion lung. It is located just
Rather than a single brain, underneath the shell, so
snails have three clusters can be diffi cult to spot.

of nerves called ganglia,
which transmit signals
to different parts of the

body. The cerebral ganglia
supplies nerves to the
snail’s head, including its
eyes and tentacles.
Eye

Jaw

Radula
Mucus gland

INFANCY JUVENILE MATURITY

Eggs hatch Hatchlings consume Young snails grow Aestivation and hibernation Juveniles reach maturity Adult snails mate
Hatchling snails emerge from calcium 0 days 0-2 years Snails aestivate and hibernate 6 months 6 months onwards

their eggs with so , vulnerable Calcium is essential for a healthy The snail’s shell and body during extreme weather to When a snail reaches sexual Snails mate throughout the

shells and instinctively begin to shell. A hatchling’s first meal is start to grow in conjunction prevent drying out or freezing, maturity, the lip at the entrance year, following one another’s
search for calcium-rich food. usually its own egg casing. with one another. retreating into their shells. of its shell turns upward. mucus trails.
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