Otala lactea

Otala lactea, known as the milk snail or Spanish snail, is a large, edible[2] species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk, in the family Helicidae, the typical snails. Archaeological recovery at the Ancient Roman site of Volubilis, in Morocco, illustrates prehistoric exploitation of O. lactea by humans.[3]

Otala lactea
Five views of a shell of Otala lactea
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Heterobranchia
clade Euthyneura
clade Panpulmonata
clade Eupulmonata
clade Stylommatophora
informal group Sigmurethra
Superfamily:
Helicoidea
Family:
Helicidae
Genus:
Otala
Species:
O. lactea
Binomial name
Otala lactea[1]
(Müller, 1774)
Synonyms
  • Helix ahmarina J. Mabille 1883
  • Helix canariensis Mousson 1872
  • Helix jacquemetana J. Mabille 1883
  • Helix lactea O.F. Muller 1774 (original description)

Distribution

This species of snail is native to Europe and parts of North Africa. It has been introduced to the United States, including Arizona, California, and Florida, and to Bermuda, Cuba, and southeastern Australia.

Anatomy
love dart of Otala lactea.

This snail creates and uses love darts as part of its courtship behaviour, prior to mating. The shell of the snail plays an important role on its quality of life. This is because the calcium in the snails shell allows for shell regeneration to take place, if the shell was ever to be broken.[4]

O. lactea has developed the evolutionary adaptation of estivation to help it deal with harsh conditions such as drought or famine. During this time, O. lactea suppresses its metabolism. This effects many of the body functions. On a cellular level, this conversion from normal to estivation is seen impacting the Na+/K+-ATPase function. The Na+/K+-ATPase activity has been shown to be significantly reduced during estivation. As the Na+/K+-ATPase pump uses quite a lot of ATP, the suppression of this pump plays a key role in the conversion to estivation in the O. lactea.[5]

References
  1. Taxonomy for Species Otala lactea
  2. Man and Mollusc's Data Base of Edible Molluscs
  3. C. Michael Hogan, Volubilis, The Megalithic Portal, ed. Andy Burnham (2007)
  4. "EVIDENCE THAT <italic>OTALA LACTEA</italic> (MÜLLER) UTILIZES CALCIUM FROM THE SHELL". Journal of Molluscan Studies. December 1974. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.mollus.a065269. ISSN 1464-3766.
  5. Ramnanan, Christopher J.; Storey, Kenneth B. (2006-02-15). "Suppression of Na+/K+-ATPase activity during estivation in the land snail Otala lactea". Journal of Experimental Biology. 209 (4): 677–688. doi:10.1242/jeb.02052. ISSN 0022-0949. PMID 16449562.
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