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How fast is a snail’s pace? The influences of size and substrate on gastropod speed of locomotion

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Date
05/2021
Author
Pembury Smith, M. Q. R.
Ruxton, G. D.
Keywords
Gastropod
Propulsion
Adhesive locomotion
Substrate
Size
QH301 Biology
I-PW
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Abstract
Terrestrial gastropods display monotaxic direct crawling. During locomotion, smooth muscle contraction stimulates a series of pedal waves that move along the ventral surface of the foot. These waves interact with a thin layer of mucus produced by the foot, propelling the animal forward. Although the mechanism by which this process occurs has been well studied, less is known about how morphological or environmental factors affect this process, and ultimately how they may alter the speed of propulsion. In this study, we tested the influences of body size, substrate type, and substrate orientation on crawling speed in the terrestrial snail Cornu aspersum. We found that substrate texture and orientation had a strong effect on speed, whereas snail body size and the presence of a conspecific trail did not. Crawling speed across rough sandpaper was the most striking, showing a clear inversely proportional relationship between the size of abrasive particle and speed. We suggest that this may be the result of substrate attributes interfering with mucus adhesion or mucus production, subsequently affecting locomotion, although gait choice or the frequency and length of each pedal wave may also play a role.
Citation
Pembury Smith , M Q R & Ruxton , G D 2021 , ' How fast is a snail’s pace? The influences of size and substrate on gastropod speed of locomotion ' , Journal of Zoology , vol. 314 , no. 1 , pp. 12-19 . https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.12865
Publication
Journal of Zoology
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.12865
ISSN
0952-8369
Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2021 The Zoological Society of London. This work has been made available online in accordance with publisher policies or with permission. Permission for further reuse of this content should be sought from the publisher or the rights holder. This is the author created accepted manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.12865.
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  • University of St Andrews Research
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/24786

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