THE VARIED ROLES OF SNAILS - National Universities Commission

digestible vegetable. Tough plants and algae are consumed
as long as they are able to grasp their pieces as food with
their radula. They consume litters on the forest floors.
Carnivory in some Taxa involve grazing on colonial
animals. Some others engage in hunting their preys.
Two techniques used in devouring other snails include
attacking the prey by introducing the proboscis into the
aperture of the victim and eating the flesh; or by gnawing
holes into the victim’s shell in several stages with the
radula and eating the exposed tissues. Most snails are
opportunistic, feeding on even fish, frogs, crustaceans and
insects.
(i) Predators: Snails are a popular food source for
various animals like birds, turtles, tortoise,
fishes, insects, crocodiles, snakes, snail kites, and
lizards. Mammals including man also prey upon
snails. Table 2 gives a list of some groups
identified as predators of snails.
TABLE 2: LIST OF SNAIL PREDATORS
Names of the predators of their types
Insects Sciomyzidae
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