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Teeth, scales, tusks etc |
Thegastropod shell is part of the body of many gastropods, including snails, a kind of mollusc. The shell is anexoskeleton, which protects from predators, mechanical damage, and dehydration, but also serves for muscle attachment and calcium storage. Some gastropods appear shell-less (slugs) but may have a remnant within the mantle, or in some cases the shell is reduced such that the body cannot be retracted within it (semi-slug).
Some snails also possess an operculum that seals the opening of the shell, known as theaperture, which provides further protection. The study ofmollusc shells is known asconchology. The biological study of gastropods, and other molluscs in general, ismalacology. Shell morphology terms vary by species group.[1]
The gastropod shell has three major layers secreted by themantle. The calcareous central layer, ostracum, is typically made ofcalcium carbonate (CaCO3) precipitated into an organic matrix known asconchiolin. The outermost layer is the periostracum which is resistant to abrasion and provides most shell coloration. The body of the snail contacts the innermost smooth layer that may be composed of mother-of-pearl or shell nacre, a dense horizontally packed form of conchiolin, which is layered upon the periostracum as the snail grows.[citation needed]
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| Morphology of typical spirally coiled shell. The shell ofZonitoides nitidus, a land snail, has dextral coiling. Upper image: Dorsal view, showing whorls and apex | Photo of the shell ofZonitoides nitidus with an apical view, an apertural view and a basal view |
Gastropod shell morphology is usually quite constant among individuals of a species. Controlling variables are:
Some of these factors can be modelled mathematically and programs exist to generate extremely realistic images. Early work byDavid Raup on the analog computer also revealed many possible combinations that were never adopted by any actual gastropod.
Some shell shapes are found more often in certain environments, though there are many exceptions. Wave-washed high-energy environments, such as the rockyintertidal zone, are usually inhabited by snails whose shells have a wide aperture, a relatively low surface area, and a high growth rate per revolution. High-spired and highly sculptured forms become more common in quiet water environments. The shell of burrowing forms, such as theolive andTerebra, are smooth, elongated, and lack elaborate sculpture, in order to decrease resistance when moving through sand. On land, high-spired forms are often associated with vertical surfaces, whereas flat-shelled snails tend to live on the ground.
A few gastropods, for instance theVermetidae, cement the shell to, and grow along, solid surfaces such as rocks, or other shells.
Most gastropod shells are spirally coiled. The majority (over 90%)[2] of gastropod species havedextral (right-handed) shells, but a small minority of species and genera are virtually alwayssinistral (left-handed), and a very few species (for exampleAmphidromus perversus[3]) show a mixture of dextral and sinistral individuals. There occur also aberrantly sinistral forms of dextral species and some of these are highly sought by shell collectors.[citation needed]
If a coiled gastropod shell is held with the spire pointing upwards and the aperture more or less facing the observer, a dextral shell will have the aperture on the right-hand side, and a sinistral shell will have the aperture on the left-hand side. This chirality of gastropods is sometimes overlooked when photographs of coiled gastropods are "flipped" by a non-expert prior to being used in a publication. This image "flipping" results in a normal dextral gastropod appearing to be a rare or abnormal sinistral one.
Sinistrality arose independently 19 times among marine gastropods since the start of theCenozoic.[4] This left-handedness seems to be more common in freshwater and land pulmonates. But still the dextral living species in gastropods seem to account for 99% of the total number.[5]
The chirality in gastropods appears in early cleavage (spiral cleavage) and the geneNODAL is involved.[6] A more recent study (2013) correlates the asymmetric coiling of the shell by the left-right asymmetric expression of the decapentaplegic gene in the mantle.[7]
In a few cases, both left- and right-handed coiling are found in the same population.[8] Sinistral mutants of normally dextral species and dextral mutants of normally sinistral species are rare but well documented occurrences among land snails in general.[8] Populations or species with normally mixed coiling are much rarer, and, so far as is known, are confined, with one exception, to a few genera of arboreal tropical snails.[8] BesidesAmphidromus, the CubanLiguus vittatus (Swainson),HaitianLiguus virgineus (Linnaeus) (familyOrthalicidae), someHawaiianPartulina and many HawaiianAchatinella (familyAchatinellidae), as well as several species of Pacific islandsPartula (familyPartulidae), are known to have mixed dextral-sinistral populations.[8]
A possible exception may concern some of the Europeanclausiliids of the subfamilyAlopiinae.[8] They are obligatorycalciphiles living in isolated colonies on limestone outcrops.[8] Several sets of species differ only in the direction of coiling, but the evidence is inconclusive as to whether left- and right-handed shells live together.[8] Soos (1928, pp. 372–385)[full citation needed] summarized previous discussions of the problem and concluded that the right- and left-handed populations were distinct species.[8] Others have stated that these populations were not distinct, and the question is far from settled.[8] The Peruvian clausiliid,Nenia callistoglypta Pilsbry (1949, pp. 216–217),[full citation needed] also has been described as being an amphidromine species.[8]
The genetics of reverse coiling in a rare dextral mutant of another clausiliid,Alinda biplicata (Montagu), has been studied by Degner (1952).[8] The mechanism is the same as inRadix peregra (Müller), with the direction of coiling determined by a simpleMendelian recessive.[8]
In photographs or illustrations, a gastropod shell can be shown oriented in a number of standard ways:
The shell begins with the larval shell, the (usually) minuteembryonic whorls known as theprotoconch, which is often quite distinct from the rest of the shell and has no growth lines. From the protoconch, which forms the apex of thespire, the coils orwhorls of the shell gradually increase in size. Normally the whorls are circular or elliptical in section. The spire can be high or low, broad or slender, according to the way the coils of the shell are arranged, and the apical angle of the shell varies accordingly. The whorls sometimes rest loosely upon one another (as inEpitonium scalare). They also can overlap the earlier whorls such that the earlier whorls may be largely or wholly covered by the later ones. When an angulation occurs, the space between it and thesuture above it constitutes the area known as the "shoulder" of the shell. The shoulder angle may be smooth or keeled, and may sometimes have nodes or spines.
The most simple form ofsculpture of the gastropod shell consists of longitudinal ridges, and/or transverse ridges. Primary spirals may appear in regular succession on either side of the first primary, which generally becomes the shoulder angle if angulation occurs. Secondary spirals may appear by intercalation between the primary ones, and generally are absent in the young shell, except in some highly accelerated types. Tertiary spirals are intercalated between the preceding groups in more specialized species. Ribs are regular transverse foldings of the shell, which generally extend from the suture to suture. They are usually spaced uniformly and crossed by the spirals. In specialized types, when a shoulder angle is formed, they become concentrated as nodes upon this angle, disappearing from the shoulder above and the body below. Spines may replace the nodes in later stages. They form as notches in the margin of the shell and are subsequently abandoned, often remaining open in front. Irregular spines may also arise on various parts of the surface of the shell (seePlatyceras).
When a row of spines is formed at the edge or outer lip of the shell during a resting period, this feature sometimes remains behind as avarix as in (Murex) and many of theRanellidae. Varices may also be formed by simple expansion of the outer lip, and a subsequent resumption of growth from the base of the expansion.
Theaperture or peristome of the shell may be simple or variously modified. An outer and an inner (columellar) lip are generally recognized. These may be continuous with each other, or may be divided by an anterior notch. This, in some types (Fusinus, etc.) it is drawn out into an anteriorsiphonal canal, of greater or lesser length.
An upper or posterior notch is present in certain taxa, and this may result in the formation of a ridge or shelf next to the suture (Clavilithes). An outer (lateral) emargination or notch, sometimes prolonged into a slit occurs in certain types (Pleurotomidae, Pleurotomaridae, Bellerophontidae, etc.), and the progressive closing of this slit may give rise to a definitely marked slit band. In some cases the slit is abandoned and left as a hole (Fissurellidae), or by periodic renewal as a succession of holes (Haliotis). The outer emargination is often only indicated by the reflected course of the lines of growth on the shell.
On the inside of the outer lip, various ridges or plications calledlirae are sometimes found, and these occasionally may be strong and tooth-like (Nerinea). Similar ridges or columellar plicae or folds are more often found on the inner lip, next to the columella or central spiral twist. These may be oblique or normal to the axis of coiling (horizontal), few or numerous, readily seen, or far within the shell so as to be invisible except in broken shells. When the axis of coiling is hollow (perforate spire) the opening at the base constitutes theumbilicus. The umbilicus varies greatly in size, and may be wholly or in part covered by an expansion or callus of the inner lip (Natica).
ManyRecent shells, when the animal is alive or the shell is freshly empty, have an uppermost shell layer of horny, smooth, or hairy epidermis orperiostracum, a proteinaceous layer which sometimes is thick enough to hide the color markings of the surface of the shell. The periostracum, as well as the coloration, is only rarely preserved in fossil shells.
The apertural end of the gastropod shell is the anterior end, nearest to the head of the animal; the apex of the spire is often the posterior end or at least is the dorsal side. Most authors figure the shells with the apex of the spire uppermost.In life, when the soft parts of these snail are retracted, in some groups the aperture of the shell is closed by using a horny or calcareousoperculum, a door-like structure which is secreted by, and attached to, the upper surface of the posterior part of the foot. The operculum is of very variable form in the different groups of snails that possess one.[9]
The terminology used to describe the shells of gastropods includes:
The overall shape of the shell varies. For example, three groups can be distinguished based on the height – width ratio:[10]
The following are the principal modifications of form in the gastropod shell.[11]
Detailed distinction of the shape can be:[12][13]
The most frequently used measurements of a gastropod shell are: theheight of the shell, thewidth of the shell, the height of the aperture and the width of the aperture. The number of whorls is also often used.
In this context, the height (or the length) of a shell is its maximum measurement along the central axis. The width (or breadth, or diameter) is the maximum measurement of the shell at right angles to the central axis. Both terms are only related to the description of the shell and not to the orientation of the shell on the living animal.
The largest height of any shell is found in the marine snail speciesSyrinx aruanus, which can be up to 91 cm.[14]
Thecentral axis is an imaginary axis along the length of a shell, around which, in a coiled shell, the whorls spiral. The central axis passes through the columella, the central pillar of the shell.
Among proposed roles invoked for the variability of shells duringevolution include mechanical stability,[15] defense against predators[16] and climatic selection.[17][18]
The shells of some gastropods have been reduced or partly reduced during theirevolution. This reduction can be seen in allslugs, in semi-slugs and in various other marine and non-marine gastropods. Sometimes the reduction of the shell is associated with a predatory way of feeding.
Some taxa lost the coiling of their shell during evolution.[19] According toDollo's law, it is not possible to regain the coiling of the shell after it is lost. Despite that, there are few genera in the familyCalyptraeidae that changed their developmental timing (heterochrony) and gained back (re-evolution) a coiled shell from the previous condition of an uncoiledlimpet-like shell.[19]
In large enough quantities, gastropod shells can have enough of an impact on environmental conditions to affect the ability of organic remains in the local environment to fossilize.[20] For example, in theDinosaur Park Formation, fossil hadrosaur eggshell is rare.[20] This is because the breakdown oftannins from localconiferous vegetation would have caused the ancient waters to become acidic.[20] Eggshell fragments are present in only twomicrofossil sites, both of which are predominated by the preserved shells of invertebrate life, including gastropods.[20] It was the slow dissolution of these shells releasingcalcium carbonate into the water that raised the water'spH high enough to prevent the eggshell fragments from dissolving before they could be fossilized.[20]
This article incorporates public domain text from references,[1][8][9] and CC-BY-2.0 text from reference.[18]
Laidlaw F. F. &Solem A. (1961)."The land snail genusAmphidromus: a synoptic catalogue".Fieldiana Zoology41(4): 505–720.| Part of a series on |
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