Larry Watrous
(http://www.lwatrous.com/missouri_mollusks/landsnails/photo3.htm)
Eastern Forest Snails are
our most common terrestrial
(land) snail. They grow a large shell, sometimes over an
inch wide. The shell is fairly flat and tan with darker
blotches. It has a flared lip (opening to the
shell).
Eastern Forest Snails are
herbivores,
eating living or dead plant material. They are very
important for controlling plant populations and breaking
down plant materials.
Michigan State University
Snail Laboratory, Photo by JWA
These snails can move several
inches in a minute. They release an orange slime as they crawl. The
slime gives them a "cushion" to crawl over. This cushion protects
their soft bodies from sharp things. Snails can also use old slime
trails as paths back to food or shelter.
Eastern Forest Snails live in
forests,
wooded areas, parks, and yards.
Predators
of land snails include turtles, birds, and other snails.
Copyright, The Naturalist's
Cabinet
Eastern Forest Snails are
sometimes infected by a parasite
called a Brainworm. Brainworms are a type of microscopic animal
called nematodes.
Eastern Forest Snails will eat deer poop because of the plant
material in it. When they do, Brainworm larvae
(baby nematodes) develop inside the snail's body. The Brainworm
larvae live inside the snail, continuing to grow, until a new deer
accidentally eats the snail when it is munching on grass. The larvae
then grow into adult Brainworms inside the deer and lay new eggs
which come out in the deer poop. The Brainworm nematode cannot live
without both the snail and the deer.
Eastern Forest Snails are an
important part of our forests. They control plants and break down
dead plant material, so nutrients
can be re-used by plants and animals that are important to
people.
