| Freshwater
Snail
The snail belongs to the phylum Mollusca (moll-uss-kah),
which comes from the Latin word, Molluscus,
meaning soft.
What they look like:
Freshwater snails are similar to slugs but have a spiral
shell encasing their soft body.
Size:
3-25 mm long.
Where they live:
Freshwater snails live in calm parts of streams or ponds,
attached to plants or rocks.
What they eat:
Algae, and dead and decaying plants in the water. Their
tongue has layers of teeth, which scrape food particles
into the mouth.
Pollution
tolerance. Very tolerant, rating 1.
Freshwater Snails can live in water rich in nutrients,
as they feed on algae. Some come to the surface
to get oxygen, which they can hold within the shell,
and some have gills to extract oxygen from the water.
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What’s interesting about
Freshwater Snails? |
