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Facts about Snails

Snails do not have legs, but instead have one very large and very flat foot. Snails secrete a layer of mucus that they use to help them glide about.

A snail breaks up its food using the radula inside its mouth. ... The cerebral ganglia of the snail form a primitive brain which is divided into four sections. This structure is very much simpler than the brains of mammals, reptiles and birds, but nonetheless, snails are capable of associative learning.

Land Snails. Land snails have two pairs of tentacles. The snail can move these tentacles, which stick out from the top of the snail's head, to get a better idea of its surroundings. The two tallest tentacles have eyes at their tips.

In biology, a hermaphrodite is an organism that has reproductive organs and produces gametes normally associated with both male and female sexes. ... For example, the great majority of tunicates, pulmonate snails, opisthobranch snails and slugs are hermaphrodites.

That means that snails may have some important blood vessels, such as the pulmonary vein, leading from the lung to the heart, and the main artery or aorta, but the blood circulates freely between the organs. There it mixes with the lymphatic fluid, resulting in the so-called haemolymph.

But animals with simple nervous systems, like lobsters, snails and worms, do not have the ability to process emotional information and therefore do not experience suffering, say most researchers. ... But vertebrates with spines have much more advanced nervous systems and can feel real pain and suffering, Stevens explained.May 11, 2005

Most snails' blood pigment is haemocyanin. Contrary to haemoglobin, used by vertebrates, haemocyanin works on a complex with copper as oxygen binding atom. That is why snail blood in its oxidised state appears pale blue in colour. ... Snails usually have two heart chambers, one atrium and one ventricle.