It’s a beautiful cool morning. In the houses still asleep, the first sounds of footsteps shatter the silence. The gardens wake up to the dew and the flight of blackbirds. Already, the leaves of the trees are turning yellow, brown and tawny. It’s going to rain. Autumn is approaching. It’s at first light that a small animal ventures into our gardens. He advances slowly, porteporte a typo on his of theof the and leaves behind a shiny, iridescent trail. The snail. He who seems so banal, so unextraordinary, him whom we sometimes pass without even noticing him, to the point of almost crushing him; the snail – small mollusk of the family of gastropodsgastropods – conceals many secrets. And as is often the case, to penetrate them, you have to get close to them. Observe it closely. That’s good, it’s the ideal activity for a nice cool morning.
Discover the Bêtes de Science podcast at the origin of this transcription. Click the Play button and let yourself be carried away or click here to subscribe on your favorite application. © Futura
The snail, an unknown companion of our gardens
So here we are faced with a little gray, a speciesspecies snails very widespread in France. The first thing that jumps out eyeseyes this is its famous shell. It is shaped like a propeller, colorcolor brown, streaked with thin light bands and wrapped around a gray spiral. Snail shells vary depending on the species; they come in all colors and shapes, from the smallest to the most spectacular! Just below the shell extends a long soft and rough body, brown, yellow and gray: this is the foot. Yes, the long elongated body of the snail is in fact its foot! It is made of powerful muscles that contract and relax to allow it to crawl forward. Always moving forward, and it’s true, very slowly! At the end of the foot is the snail’s head. It sports two pairs of antennae which are also called tentacles. The largest ones are positioned on the top of the head and end in two tiny black eyes. Not very efficient eyes… The snail’s vision is not the most impressive in the animal kingdom. To tell the truth, he especially sees the intensity of the lightlight and fuzzy shapes. But, to know where it is putting its feet – or rather its foot – the snail can count on its other, shorter tentacles, located near its mouth. It seems he has a funny moustachemoustache ! These tentacles are retractableretractablewhich means the snail can get them into its head at any time. If you approach your finger to touch one… presto, the snail retracts it! Amazing, isn’t it?
The shell is actually the skeleton of the snail. It’s even what we call a exoskeletonexoskeletonsince unlike us, it is located outside the rest of its body, and surrounds it like armor. It houses its organs, its intestine, its heart or even its unique lunglung and protects his soft body. It grows along with him throughout his growth. And it even allows us to go back in time! The tip of the shell of this squirrel is what we call theapexapexand it is in fact its birth shell! This snail’s entire shell has grown around the shell it was born with and still carries on its back. Magic! But what is the snail’s shell made of? Of calciumcalcium and of carbonecarbone ! Elements found in the terreterre and in plants and which the snail will absorb upon contact with the soil or when it eats. Once absorbed, these elements will be transported by the blood to an organ called the coatcoat. It is the coat which will create the mattermatter necessary to enlarge the shell, ring by ring!
A small gastropod with unsuspected capabilities
You may be wondering if our companion for the day is a male or a female. And that’s a good question, because the snail is an animal hermaphroditehermaphrodite. A somewhat complicated name to say that it is both male and female! Amazing little beast! To make babies, the snail needs to find a partner with which to reproduce. Once done, each of the two snails lays its own eggs. To lay eggs, the snail digs a nest before expelling its young. Sometimes up to 100 eggs in a single clutch! After 20 days, the babies emerge from their eggs to explore the world. They already have their shell on their back: it is tiny and transparent! They are so damn cute!
The woodlice, a cousin of the crab, carries its babies like a kangaroo
The slowness of the snail is not a legend. This one has advanced barely a few centimeters since we observed it and now seems determined to attempt to climb the large oak tree which sits in the middle of the garden. He is courageous but not reckless! Because the snail is an all-terrain animal. It can cross roads, fields, climb along a murmur or hang upside down on a branch. Yes, our little gastropod has talents worthy of Spiderman. He owes this extraordinary capacity for adaptation to his secret weapon: his drool! Or to put it a little more scientifically, its mucus. THE mucusmucus produced by the snail allows it to move everywhere without getting hurt. Thanks to it, it glides on all surfaces. And if he wants to do two or three acrobatics, he can count on his foot which works like a suction cup thanks to its sticky slime! Mucus has another essential role: it allows it to keep its body moist. And this is very important for the snail because, without this humidity, it could dry out and die! Humidity is therefore a vital need for this mollusk. And that’s why he loves the rain! You’ve probably already noticed it: a few drops of rain are starting to fall and it’s an invasion of cute gastropods! Nothing weird about that! The moisture from the rain actually allows the snail to produce mucus and move easily across the wet ground. Rain is therefore a boon for the snail; it allows him to keep his body moist and to walk around, without drooling!
Find out what’s hidden inside a snail shell! © Odd Animal Specimens, YouTube
Soon, with the arrival of cold weather, this little gray will burrow underground to sleep! Just like bears, snails hibernate! Because unlike us humans, who are warm-blooded animals, to keep warm, the snail needs the heatheat present in its environment. It is what we call an ectothermic animal, like lizards or snakes, for example! L’winterwinter therefore represents a danger for it: it is very cold, the snail cannot warm itself, and it must therefore find a place to take refuge. Neither one nor two, he digs a little hole to bury himself underground! It is then that it curls up in its shell and blocks the entrance with its slime. As the mucus dries, it forms a layer solidsolid called the epiphragm. He thus spends the winter warm, protected in the house firmly attached to his back. Moreover, the great heat of summer also threatens it. But don’t panic, aestivation, the summer version of hibernation, allows him to sleep in a cool place while waiting for the temperatures to cool down! Under his airsairs sluggish, the snail is an animal with astonishing capabilities that lives in a fragile balance with its environment. And he still has a few surprises in store for us….
Miracle mucus and memory: the snail, more surprising than it seems
As you now know, a snail’s mucus keeps its body moist, allows it to move without injury, and is essential for the growth and repair of its shell. But it also has many properties that have been studied by humanity for millennia. Several centuries ago, in China or Greece, snail slime was already used to… treat wounds! HippocratesHippocratesthe founder of Western medicine, already spoke of the moisturizing, anti-painpainet anti-inflammatoriesanti-inflammatories snail slime! Today, snail slime is used in skin care; composed mainly of water, certain elements of mucus, such as mucin, in fact have the capacity to regenerate human skin! And scientists are also studying it to develop revolutionary dressings, or even treatments to one day fight certain diseases, such as cancercancer ! Yes, the snail’s slime is a real pharmacy in itself! The snail also helps scientists study nature. Its shell is a windowwindow open to the environment. It allows you to go back in time, because it absorbs the elements present in the soil and plants. And it makes this little mollusc what scientists call a biological indicator: a little spy capable of telling us whether a natural space is healthy or, on the contrary, polluted!
At this point, you might be thinking that although the snail is amazing, it’s still a bit stupid. Well, nothing could be further from the truth! Certainly, the snail does not have brainbrain comparable to that which we humans have. But he has many neuronesneurones in different places of his body, these elements which constitute our brain and which allow us to think, to learn, to memorize! In the laboratory, scientists train the snails, teach them exercises and thus succeed in studying the functioning of neurons and therefore our brain! And yes, the snail has a memory, it is capable of learning new things and remembering them!
This cute little mollusc is therefore far from ordinary. The snail actually leads a complex life, in permanent balance. He plays an essential role within his ecosystemecosystem by feeding on plants, decomposing matter and being the source of food for many animals. His mucus is a real magic potion and he can even memorize exercises. So no matter how small, slow and sloppy we are, we are still capable of accomplishing great things!
Related News :