Fish and Marine Life Illustrations


gilled snail shell

Gilled Snail Shell, colored pencil

Commissioned by: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

About gilled snails:
Snails are defined as either gilled or pulmonate. Pulmonate snails have lungs, can breathe air, and are generally hermaphroditic. The shells are "left-handed". Gilled snails have gills, have separate sexes, and their shells are "right-handed". Gilled snails eat decaying plants and algae. They can close the opening of their shell with a plate called an operculum. Eggs are laid in the spring. They live two to five years.

Taxonomy:

Phylum: Mollusca (bilateral symmetry, unsegmented)
Class: Gastropoda (muscular foot, distinct cephalic region)

More about snails:
Environmental Education for Kids: Orb, Gilled, and Pouch Snails
Stillman Nature Center: Sinistral Snails



Keywords related to art on this page: mollusk, artist, art, snail, images, shell illustrator, pictures, gastropod, image, conchology, picture, gastropods, mollusks, snails, art, shells, conch, nature, natural, science