Do Snails Have Teeth?

Different types of snails have different dietary habits. They can be herbivorous, carnivorous, detritivorous and even scavengers. In order to feed on such a diverse range of food, they use a structure called a radula located within the oral cavity. This structure has rows of tiny denticle which function much like our own teeth by scraping, filing, cutting and tearing food.

In this way, snails do have teeth. They do not have the same dentition as we do. True teeth are calcified structures which are found only in vertebrates. The teeth of snails are analogous to true teeth, but they are made of chitin and are not calcified. Snails have chitinous teeth, but not true teeth like mammals.

How many teeth do snails have?

As there is a great diversity of snail species, the rows of teeth present in the radula vary in number and arrangement. Their radula pattern can help identify which species to which an individual belongs. Each of the rows has from 1 to hundreds of thousands of teeth. The row is usually made up of a central tooth, lateral teeth and in some cases, there may be teeth located on the outside known marginal teeth.

These teeth have different functions and suffer continuous wear. This means they can be lost easily. For this reason, new denticles are generated in the posterior part of the radula.

Snails of the group Pulmonata are herbivores. Each transverse row of their radulae has more than 750 individual teeth. This means they are the type of snail with the most teeth. Learn more about another specific type of snail with our article on what is a volcano snail?

Although there is a generalized structure of the mouth of snails, this varies according to the eating habit of each species. The oral cavity of a snail that feeds on plants or algae will not be the same as that of one that consumes other organisms such as worms.

The mouth is located in the anterior part of the animal. It is made up of a cavity called the radular sac where the radula is located. The latter is made up of two parts:

• Odontophore: a cartilaginous structure, it is located at the base of the oral cavity and is joined by a series of different protective and retractor muscles that allow it to project outwards.
• Radula: the radula itself is formed by rows of chitinous teeth that are curved backwards.

Depending on the species of snail and their dietary habits, we can find certain adaptations. These include the following:

• Carnivorous snails: the radula has undergone modifications to be able to cut, tear and hold food. The most common adaptation is the development of an extensible proboscis that is part of the digestive system, allowing the snail to reach its prey. Learn more about carnivores with our article on animals with the most powerful bite.
• Detritivorous snails: these are snails which gain sustenance from eating detritus such as leaf litter and parts of decomposing animals. These species also have a long, extendable proboscis that works like a vacuum cleaner.
• Grazers: this is a more loosely classified group, but they feed food such as on algae on rocks. In these species, the radula functions as an organ capable of scraping and collecting food particles through a retraction movement.

In the oral cavity of snails, salivary glands produce mucus capable of lubricating the radula. This envelopes the food particles that then pass into a tube-shaped esophagus that opens into a conical-shaped stomach. It should be noted that digestion is extracellular and is carried out by enzymes found within this stomach.

If we are including chitinous teeth like those of snails and not just true teeth, then we open up this question to the whole animal kingdom. In this regard, snails are the animals with the most teeth in the world.

Snails are invertebrates, many of which do not have any teeth at all. Due to the presence of up to thousands of denticles in their radula, snails are not necessarily representative all invertebrates. We most associate teeth in the animal kingdom with vertebrate animals. The following are two examples of animals with a lot of teeth:

• Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus): this fish has numerous rows of its dentition with a total of approximately 9,200 teeth. These are used to prey on invertebrate animals, other fish, amphibians and even small mammals.
• Giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus): the giant armadillo is the largest of the armadillos and is the land mammal with the greatest number of teeth at approximately 100. These many teeth allow it to feed on other organisms such as ants, termites, worms and even larvae.

Now you know that snails not only have teeth, but more teeth than any other animal in the world, you may want to read about similar animal dentition with our articles on do turtles have teeth and do whales have teeth?

If you want to read similar articles to Do Snails Have Teeth?, we recommend you visit our Facts about animals category.