Gastropods
Gastropods P.K.Ghatak,MD No 69. Gastropod is a Greek word, which means mouth (gastrointestinal tract) in foot. Gastropod belongs to Mollusk phylum. The gastropod constitutes the largest family in the Mollusum phylum, consisting of 80,000 species. They are grouped in 720 families and out of 720 families 250 are extinct. Among the living species 30,000 are marine, another 30,000 are terrestrial and the 5,000 are freshwater snail and slug species. Slugs are like sails without the external shell and most are nocturnal garden pests. Gastropods are hermaphrodites. Snails are called Escargots in Latin and are a delicacy in France, Spain, Vietnam, Morocco and Algeria and other countries. The foot of the snail is an edible potion and is made up of proteins. The shell is not edible but the smaller the snail is, the more difficult it is to remove. The largest in size and weight of this family is Conch. Australian trumpet (Syrinx aruanus) grows to 40 lbs. and reaches 3 ft in len...