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Snails are known to us as very slow, fragile and defenseless creatures whose only salvation in the case of the appearance of enemies is a shelter in their own shell. Not less recently, Japanese and Russian researchers found that among the gastropods there are two species whose representatives refuse when in danger, hide and directly attack the enemy. Moreover, in the quality of their weapons are all the same shells.
It is about Karaftohelix gainesi and Karaftohelix selskii – two varieties of snails that live in Japan and we have country respectively. Biologists from Hokkaido University, with the support of their Russian colleagues, they planted one of such snails in a container with ground beetle and began to observe how the gastropod will behave. How can I see the below video, the snail decided not to sit out in its “house”, but began aggressively waving this very “house” from side to side, driving the bug away.
A photo from open sources
Such a tough counterattack caused experts not only surprise, but also respect for the clam. As you know, for many ground beetles snails are a real delicacy, therefore, gastropod not in vain came on alert when it was nearby with a predator. Not the fact that the beetle would want to feast on the mollusk in such a stressful situation, however, the snail apparently decided not to take a chance and, seeing a potential enemy, immediately gave him fight back.
Researchers are surprised by the fact that one “fighting” type of snails lives on the Japanese islands, and the other in the Russian Federation, although only their belonging to a common class connects them. All over apparently, they acquired such a valuable skill independently of each other. Scientists emphasize that their discovery is of great importance for studying the evolution and relationships of predators with prey.
Japan
