Life On and Off an Acreage

In-sights into moving from an Acreage back to Town, plus a few things I find of interest.

Two things that horses are scared about:


1. Things that move
2. Things that don't move




Old enough to be eccentric, but not rich enough
Showing posts with label Wolf Snail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wolf Snail. Show all posts

February 27, 2017

Weird Critter!

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.