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Post by Miranda on Dec 30, 2006 11:26:37 GMT
I've been thinking about this lately, its hard because they can retract their eyes and bodies super quick but they move slowly why?
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Ellen
Achatina achatina
Posts: 52
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Post by Ellen on Jan 1, 2007 12:06:56 GMT
I think this is because snails only have one foot, so they can't walk like we do and they also can't jump or anything like that (imagine jumping snailies ). If you just had one foot and had to "walk" like that without jumping, you won't be very quick either . But I think there must be a more logical explanation
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Post by Miranda on Jan 1, 2007 15:53:24 GMT
i tested that and your right we are slower but if you lok at the underside of a snail on glass,the muscles are moving quite quickly?
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Buse
Achatina fulica
Posts: 0
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Post by Buse on Jan 1, 2007 19:17:20 GMT
This Might Sound Stupid But ................ Maybe Snails Are Slower Because They Have To Carry Big Heavy Shells ;D .. .. !!! Its Like Us Having To Carry Our House On Are Back !!! Sorry But I Couldnt Ressist
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marco
Achatina achatina
Posts: 46
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Post by marco on Jan 1, 2007 20:06:40 GMT
are you kidding me? next time you see your snail going up the side of its tank, just have a look at the muscle as it moves, snails are incredibly strong, they are quite easily capable of lifting there shells into awkward positions when aloft on the side of a tank, and when full grown, can also take passengers with them too on there shells. for the muscle factor snails have got it all, and as for the one foot... well there whole under body is just one big transportation muscle which i think deffintely compensates for the mono-foot dilema. saying that thou... snails have adapted that way through evolution, they ditched speed in favour of armoued protection (exo skeleton) though not 100% efficent (as is most noticable when looking at say.. a black throat monitors diet) its a good method of protection and one that has been used sinse life first exsited on earth. yet again that said, slugs are not the fastest of beasties either, and when i look at slugs it often makes me think that they are a dead end in the chain of molluscular evolution, simply because they have no form of protection. and do not compensate in any well known way for there lack of speed...
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Buse
Achatina fulica
Posts: 0
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Post by Buse on Jan 2, 2007 17:48:38 GMT
' When Full Grown, Can Also Take Passengers With Them Too On There Shells ' - Piggy Back ;D
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Post by Paul on Jan 2, 2007 22:54:05 GMT
Slugs produce a glue-like slime in massive quantities when attacked, making them almost impossible to eat.
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Post by Miranda on Jan 3, 2007 10:34:16 GMT
yes, slugs have a VERY sticky tough mucous, in 'Life in the undergrowth' ( a uk telovision program by Sir david Attenborough)a slug in the jungle was beigng attacked by some sort of cutter/warrior ants they broke their jaws on the think mucous, they got stuck in it, eventually they cut throught, but it took a while, and they had to get a whole legion of them to do so!
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marco
Achatina achatina
Posts: 46
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Post by marco on Jan 3, 2007 19:56:01 GMT
hmmm.. always wonderd why slug mucus was such a damn pain to scrub off.
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apple
Archachatina degneri
Posts: 1,078
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Post by apple on Jan 10, 2007 21:28:18 GMT
lool Snails are slow because they don´t need to be fast, their shell and their mucus are good protections. Their food is quite and doesn´t run off them ( well, I never saw a lettuce running) so they don´t need to spend energy capturing preys.With that they didn´t had any evolution pressure to be different, and so they are much alike their ancestors millions and millions years ago. In a micro-environment ( on the tree canopy)with few predators they didn´t evolved a shell at all, like in the humid tropical jungle of «El Yunque» in the island of Puerto Rico. Predators selective pressure plays an essential role on these matters.
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Post by Robert Nordsieck on Aug 24, 2010 18:07:03 GMT
Hi, this may be an older posting, but I have some things to say anyway: a) snail slime is hard to wash off, because it is hygroscopic: it contains mucopeptides that attract water, so the slime does not get dissolved in water. b) snails are slow, because they have to overcome a very strong friction to the ground; there is a suction or underpressure, so the snail will not fall off. The slime lessens friction a bit, but, I assume, not so very much. c) the snail shell is not an exoskeleton. A skeleton supports organs and the snail shell does not. The only muscle connected to a snail shell is the columella muscle or big retractor muscle that withdraws the snail into its shell. There is no motional musculature and the snail's body will maintain its form when the shell is removed, though the snail will die. d) concerning heavy shells, even if they are very small, I think door snails are most spectacular in that regard - their shell is huge compared to their body. And still they can carry it and move not noticeably slower than other snails. See this picture: Common door snail (Alinda biplicata). Photo: Robert Nordsieck.Regards Robert
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apple
Archachatina degneri
Posts: 1,078
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Post by apple on Sept 3, 2010 13:35:17 GMT
I agree with Robert, of course. That explains why they are slow, I think. Selective pressure lead them to that.
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