The majority is sure that the animal of “teeth”, the more dangerous it is. The shark’s mouth contains several thousand (three to fifteen, depending on the species), razor-sharp teeth arranged in several rows. That’s why sharks are considered the most toothy and bloodthirsty, but by no means such a slow and harmless snail, because not everyone knows how many snails have teeth, photos and drawings of which are found in many children's books.
There is no terrible beast of a snail
It turns out that the snail has much "tooth" sharks. Most grape snails have teeth. She has as many as 25 thousand teeth in her mouth, with the help of which she can grind even very stiff stems and leaves without much difficulty.
It is worth noting that these are not exactly the teeth that we usually mean. In the oral cavity of the cochlea, the so-called radulae are located - a special apparatus that looks more like a grater. Here, rather, what matters is not how many snails have teeth, but how they work. The radula located on the surface of the odontophore (a kind of “tongue”) serves not for biting, but for scraping and chopping food. It consists of a chitinous basal lamina (radula membrane) and chitinous teeth located transversely in several hundred rows. This whole apparatus operates on the principle of an excavating machine that has as many buckets as a snail has. It is these horn formations that scrape off the nutrient, which then enters the digestive tract. By some species of gastropod, the rainbow is used as a drill with which the snail opens the shell of its victim.
Some interesting facts from the life of snails
- The nervous system of the cochlea contains approximately twenty thousand neurons. The human brain, by comparison, consists of several hundred billion.
- The olfactory receptors located in humans inside the nose, in snails are on top of the horns. In other words, horns are a nose inside out.
- It is believed that snails do not see in the literal sense of the word, but only distinguish between light and darkness.
- How many snails have teeth depends on the variety. Usually their number ranges from 15 to 25 thousand.
- Most snails are hermaphrodites.
- The giant snail Achatina fulica reaches a length of 20 cm, but moves slower than a grape snail.
- The meat of this mollusk contains more protein than a chicken egg. In addition, it is rich in calcium, iron and fatty acids. For this reason, they are eaten.
- Regardless of how many teeth a snail has, it has one leg, and therefore it moves very slowly. The maximum speed that the animal develops is about 7 cm / min.
- The most gigantic snail ever found weighed sixteen kilograms, and her house reached seventy centimeters in length.
- Most snails have a shell twisted clockwise (to the right) when viewed from the twisted end. Twisting counterclockwise is much less common.
- Snails were used as a medicine in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases and eye inflammation, as well as for stopping bleeding.
In conclusion of the story about how much a snail has teeth, it should be noted that it is not a record holder for “toothiness” in the animal kingdom. The absolute champion is the naked slug. He has about thirty thousand teeth.
