This was found by my grandson in his back yard in Houston. It appears that everything is bigger in Texas!
The Rosy Wolf Snail, also known as the Cannibal Snail, is a large member of the family Spiraxidae. It has a delicate pink shell which belies its carnivorous appetite and ruthless hunting behavior. They cruise along the ground at a speed 300% faster than other snails, searching for signs of smaller gastropods with specialized chemical receptors called oral lappets. When they detect a slime trail, the follow it until they overtake the prey snail.
Once a Wolf Snail has found its prey, it uses its unusually long neck to hold the shell in place. Then, it extends a long esophageal tube from its head and sticks it into the aperture. This tube houses a dagger-like radula, which tears off chunks of flesh and sucks it into the Wolf Snail's stomach. If a snail is too small, the Wolf Snail will swallow it whole, shell and all. It then converts the calcium and uses it to build its own shell. It has even been known to go underwater in search of pond snails From.MolluskMan.com
Here is a link that will show the snail feeding.
That is an impressive snail!
ReplyDeleteCool picture of the Rosy Wolf Snail!!! Thanks for the interesting facts!
ReplyDeleteJessi