I understand that snails are born in eggs, but how do they get that massive shell and they aren’t multicolored? Like hermit crabs get different shells as they grow.. right?
In: Planetary Science
Snails, like clams and oysters, grow their shell from minerals they extract from their food and water (primarily calcium and carbon, as their shells are mostly calcium carbonate). Each species grows their shells in a particular pattern, and plenty of them are in fact multicolored. There are many different shapes of snail shell – conch shells look like trumpets, turban snails have cylindrical shells, certain *Astrea* snails have shells that look like ninja stars, ramshorn snails have shells that curl up like a ram’s horn. Some shells have tiger striping, some are speckled, some are bright and shiny, some look like marble. It’s all based on the individual species.
Hermit crabs are a completely different group of animals; they’re crustaceans, with an exoskeleton composed of chitin. However, they’ve evolved to steal snail shells to cover their soft lower bodies; there are enough snails out there that it’s not hard for hermits to find a nice shell to live in. Over the course of their life, they will change shells multiple time, usually as they outgrow whatever shell they’re currently living in. If they can’t find a suitable empty shell, they’ll attack and kill a living snail to steal its shell.
Latest Answers