The class Gastropoda is a diverse and highly successful class of mollusks within the phylum Mollusca. It contains a vast total of named species, second only to the insects in overall number. The fossil history of this class goes back to the Late Cambrian. As of 2017[update], 721 families of gastropods are known, of which 245 are extinct and appear only in the fossil record, while 476 are currently extantwith or without a fossil record.
Gastropoda (previously known as univalves and sometimes spelled "Gasteropoda") are a major part of the phylum Mollusca, and are the most highly diversified class in the phylum, with 65,000 to 80,000 living snail and slug species. The anatomy, behavior, feeding, and reproductive adaptations of gastropods vary significantly from one clade or group to another, so stating many generalities for all gastropods is difficult.
The class Gastropoda has an extraordinary diversification of habitats. Representatives live in gardens, woodland, deserts, and on mountains; in small ditches, great rivers, and lakes; in estuaries, mudflats, the rocky intertidal, the sandy subtidal, the abyssal depths of the oceans, including the hydrothermal vents, and numerous other ecological niches, including parasitic ones.
Although the name "snail" can be, and often is, applied to all the members of this class, commonly this word means only those species with an external shell big enough that the soft parts can withdraw completely into it. Slugs are gastropods that have no shell or a very small, internal shell; semislugs are gastropods that have a shell that they can partially retreat into but not entirely.
The marine shelled species of gastropods include species such as abalone, conches, periwinkles, whelks, and numerous other sea snails that produce seashells that are coiled in the adult stage—though in some, the coiling may not be very visible, for example in cowries. In a number of families of species, such as all the various limpets, the shell is coiled only in the larval stage, and is a simple conical structure after that. (Full article...)
Scaly-foot gastropodChrysomallon squamiferum, common name the scaly-foot gastropod, is a species of deep-sea hydrothermal-ventsnail, a marinegastropodmollusc in the family Peltospiridae. This vent-endemic gastropod is known only from deep-sea hydrothermal vents in the Indian Ocean, where it has been found at depths of about 2,400–2,800 m (1.5–1.7 mi). Chrysomallon squamiferum differs greatly from other deep-sea gastropods, even the closely related neomphalines. The shell is of a unique construction, with three layers; the outer layer consists of iron sulfides, the middle layer is equivalent to the organic periostracum found in other gastropods, and the innermost layer is made of aragonite. The foot is also unusual, being armored with iron-mineralised sclerites. The snail's oesophageal gland houses symbioticgammaproteobacteria from which the snail appears to obtain its nourishment. This species is considered to be one of the most peculiar deep-sea hydrothermal-vent gastropods, and it is the only known extant animal that incorporates iron sulfide into its skeleton (into both its sclerites and into its shell as an exoskeleton). Its heart is, proportionately speaking, unusually large for any animal: the heart comprises approximately 4% of its body volume. (Read more...)
George Washington TryonGeorge Washington Tryon, Jr. (1838-1888) was an American malacologist who worked at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. He was largely responsible for the construction of new buildings for the Academy, especially, in 1866, a section for malacology. In 1865, together with a group of American malacologists, he founded (and financed) the American Journal of Conchology. This ended in 1872.
In 1869 Tryon became the conservator in the malacological section. In 1879 he started the Manual of Conchology; structural and systematic; with illustrations of the species, volume 1, series 1. When he died, nine volumes of the first series had been published. After his death Henry Augustus Pilsbry continued this work for the next 47 years. (Read more...)
Photo of an apertural view of Sinotaia aeruginosa... that Sinotaia aeruginosa(shell pictured) is common in restaurants in China?
Drawing of an apertural view of Acmella nana... that Acmella nana(shell pictured) is the smallest known land snail?
Drawing of an apertural view of Semisulcospira libertina... that Semisulcospira libertina(shell pictured) is the most common freshwater snail in Japan?
Drawing of two Carinaria cristata, the upper one without the shell... that the fragile shell of the glassy nautilus Carinaria cristata(pictured) was at one time considered to be worth more than its weight in gold?
Photo of dorsal view of Spurilla neapolitana... that Spurilla neapolitana(pictured) defends itself with stinging cells derived from the sea anemones it eats?
Photo of an apertural view of Pupilla pratensis... that Pupilla pratensis(shell pictured) has long been neglected in the malacological literature?
Map of Lake Skadar... that there are 12 endemic species of freshwater snails in Lake Skadar(map pictured)?
Photo of an apertural view of Balea sarsii ... that the land snail Balea sarsii(shell pictured) has been overlooked for a long time?
Photo of an apertural view of Vertigo ultimathule ... that the land snail Vertigo ultimathule(shell pictured) is endemic to the northernmost part of Scandinavia?
Drawing of an apertural view of Hinea brasiliana ... that flashes of light emitted by the sea snail Hinea brasiliana(shell pictured) may act as a "burglar alarm"?
Photo of an apertural view of Halystina umberlee ... that the sea snail Halystina umberlee(pictured) was named after Umberlee, a fictional evil goddess from the Forgotten Realms role-playing game?
... that Candidula arganica, a snail found in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, lives primarily in meadows?
... that Candidula spadae, a snail native to Central Italy, is at risk in part because of tourist activities?
Drawing of dorsal view of Rathouisia leonina ... that the land slug Rathouisia leonina(pictured) from China is carnivorous?
a shell of Hauffenia sp. from Slovakia... that the subterranean freshwater snail Hauffenia sp. from Slovakia(shell pictured) has been an undescribed species since the 1980s?
a live Oxychilus camelinus... that the land snail Oxychilus camelinus(pictured) was described from Lebanon?
shell of holotype of Abbottella calliotropis... that land snails of the genus Abbottella (Abbottella calliotropis shell pictured) live on the islands of Hispaniola and Cuba?
a live Tonna galea out of water... that the snail Tonna galea(pictured) is one of very few species of prosobranch gastropods that are luminescent?
shell of holotype of Notodiscus hookeri heardensis... that the land snail Notodiscus hookeri (shell pictured) has unique shell structure among all gastropods?
a live Zospeum tholussum... that the microscopic cave snail Zospeum tholussum (pictured) is so slow that in a week's time it may only move a few millimeters or centimeters in circles?
live Omalonyx convexus... that the land snail Omalonyx convexus(pictured) can also be found submerged among macrophytes?
... that the malacologist S. Peter Dance said the shell of Pterynotus loebbeckei, (pictured), was the "most exquisite natural object" he had ever seen?
... that marine biologist Frederick Bayer discovered 170 new species, including a number of sea snails?
shell of Faunus ater... that the only brackish-water pachychilid species, Faunus ater(shell pictured), has a shell that is unique among all the Cerithioidea?
Drawing of radula of Patella vulgata18 February 2015 - The radular teeth of Patella vulgata are found to have the highest tensile strength among all biomaterials, outperforming even spider silk.
13 February 2013 - The sea slug Goniobranchus reticulatus is the only known animal that autotomizes its penis after mating and it is able to regenerate it subsequently.
17 December 2012 - A new family, Echinichidae, was described.
8 November 2012 - Urotensin-II like peptides were reported from an invertebrate for the first time, specifically from the sea hare Aplysia californica.
A live Leptoxis compacta8 August 2012 - A rediscovery of a freshwater species thought to be extinct, Leptoxis compacta, (pictured).
3 August 2012 - A new family, Epirobiidae, was established.
Elysia clarki on alga 20 July 2011 - Using the sea slug Elysia clarki(pictured) it was demonstrated (for the first time in an animal) that a photosynthetic capability affects foraging behavior under starvation.
shell of Rhodacmea filosa 31 May 2011 - the Wicker ancylidRhodacmea filosa, (shell pictured) listed as extinct by the IUCN Red List, has been rediscovered.
eggs of Pomacea canaliculata 3 December 2010: The first direct evidence (in the animal kingdom) that a proteinase inhibitor from the eggs of Pomacea canaliculata(eggs pictured) interacts as a trypsin inhibitor with the protease of potential predators.
7 November 2010: The Signpost runs a section Good lookin' slugs and snails celebrating three new gastropod-themed Featured pictures.
A list of new Wikipedia articles about gastropods, including those that simply mention the words snail, slug, conch, etc. A bot creates this list, usually every three days.
The California sea hare can sometimes grow to be as large as 75 cm in length, measured when actively crawling. It is a herbivore, and feeds mostly on red algae. This species has become a valuable laboratory animal for the study of neurobiology.
Request to editors: please do not create any more categories of gastropods by country. Instead create list articles, article with a list of the marine or non-marine gastropods of whichever country or area you are interested in. We would also like to empty and delete the two remaining country categories we have, adding that information to list articles instead. Thank you.
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