Gastropod!
Common Name:
Red Foot Moon Snail
Species Name:
Norrisia norrisi
Taxonomy:
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Mollusca
Class Gastropoda
Order Vetigastropoda
Family Trochidae
Genus Norrisia
Species norrisi
Characteristics of group:
Gastropod means "stomach foot." This means organisms that are apart of this group move by gliding around on a muscular foot. Gastropods have a single shell. With this shell, they can move their entire body inside of the shell and close this trap door like thing called the operculum to hide from predators or wait for the tide. These organisms have radula, a ribbon tooth like structure for eating. Gastropods can be herbivores, who scrape algae using their radula, and some detritavores that eat dead things and some which are carnoviores who are active hunter and feed on small fish for example. Snails on land or in the water are very similar!
The picture above is of the Red Foot Moon Snail
Click here for a cool video on Moon Snails!
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