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Just
how fast is a snail’s pace? Eight inches per minute, if you’re
a snail. You’ll recognize these slow-moving mollusks by their
spiral shells. The shell is a permanent, living part of its body. Snails
have two pairs of tentacles on their heads— the long ones are
for feeling and the short ones have eyes at the tips. Each snail has
both male and female reproductive organs, so they can mate with any
snail they meet, a convenient feature for such slow-moving creatures.
They produce a mucous film that protects their soft bodies and helps
them cling to rocks and other surfaces.
Cool
Links:
"Repellent
containing chili peppers to slow pace of ravenous wolf snail"
This disastrous
attempt to control an invasive species by introducing another one has
become a cautionary tale. From the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
back to Nature
Notebook
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