Back Ulita Czech Schneckenhaus German Kuori (eläinanatomia) Finnish Coquille de gastéropode French ခရုခွံ Burmese Sniglehus NN Sneglehus NB Cochilie (gasteropode) Romanian 螺殼 Chinese

Gastropod shell

"Snail shell" redirects here. For the cave in Tennessee, see Snail Shell Cave. For the They Might Be Giants song, see John Henry (album).
Shells of two different species of sea snail: on the left is the normally sinistral (left-handed) shell of Neptunea angulata, on the right is the normally dextral (right-handed) shell of Neptunea despecta
The shell of a large land snail (probably Helix pomatia) with parts broken off to show the interior structure.
1 – umbilicus
2 – columellar plait
3 – aperture
4 – columella
5 – suture
6 – body whorl
7 – apex
Four views of a shell of Arianta arbustorum: Apertural view (top left), lateral view (top right), apical view (bottom left), and umbilical view (bottom right).

The gastropod shell is part of the body of many gastropods, including snails, a kind of mollusc. The shell is an exoskeleton, which protects from predators, mechanical damage, and dehydration, but also serves for muscle attachment and calcium storage. Some gastropods appear shell-less (slugs) but may have a remnant within the mantle, or in some cases the shell is reduced such that the body cannot be retracted within it (semi-slug). Some snails also possess an operculum that seals the opening of the shell, known as the aperture, which provides further protection. The study of mollusc shells is known as conchology. The biological study of gastropods, and other molluscs in general, is malacology. Shell morphology terms vary by species group.[1]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Burch 1962 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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