Anatomy
- Shell description
The egg-shaped shell of this species usually grows to 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) in length. The maximum recorded shell length is 121 mm. The shells of the adult females are larger than those of the males. The sturdy shell of the adult snail has approximately five whorls with coiled spiral grooves crossed by mostly rather faint growth lines. It takes approximately six years for a Scotch bonnet to mature. Several times at different growth stages, the shell develops a thick outer lip, which is characteristic of the subfamily Cassinae. The snail rests between each of these stages of growth. When it begins to grow again, the snail usually absorbs the entire outer lip. In some cases, especially in deep water, the Scotch bonnet does not absorb the outer lip completely, leaving behind a varix on the whorls of the mature shell.
The surface of the shell varies in the degree of shell sculpture that is present, some shells being more granulated, and even having nodules on the shoulders of the whorls, and other shells being much smoother. The more food a Scotch bonnet consumes during its lifetime, the more developed the shell features are, the glossier the sheen of the shell, and the brighter the color. As is the case in all snails, the final whorl (the body whorl) is the largest and contains most of the animal’s vital organs. The shell has a large aperture, with a thick and toothed outer lip. The inner lip of the aperture has many "pimple-like" bumps on the parietal shield or parietal callus near the siphonal notch.
Read more about this topic: Semicassis Granulata
Famous quotes containing the word anatomy:
“Man is a shrewd inventor, and is ever taking the hint of a new machine from his own structure, adapting some secret of his own anatomy in iron, wood, and leather, to some required function in the work of the world.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“I love to see, when leaves depart,
The clear anatomy arrive,”
—Roy Campbell (1902–1957)
“But a man must keep an eye on his servants, if he would not have them rule him. Man is a shrewd inventor, and is ever taking the hint of a new machine from his own structure, adapting some secret of his own anatomy in iron, wood, and leather, to some required function in the work of the world. But it is found that the machine unmans the user. What he gains in making cloth, he loses in general power.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)