Herbivorous snails are well adapted to challenges of salt marshes. They eat algae and scrape off
spartina. The scrape off
algae with radulae, a toothed muscle that folds
lengthwise. The radula folds lengthwise in snails mouth mixing with mucus forming gooey string that pulols food into stomach.
They are mostly out of water hours at a tie. To prevent drying out, periwinkles seal themselves o
spartina with mucus produced by their foot. While the muicus hardens, snail pushes into its shell producing a air tight shell preventing it from drying out. Tey can grow to be 2 inch but four toothed periwinkle can grow upto 7 inches.
algae with radulae, a toothed muscle that folds lengthwise. The radula folds lengthwise in snails mouth mixing with mucus forming gooey string that pulols food into stomach.