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References
Glossary
Links
Hooper Main |
Morphology
Figure 7. Size ranges amongst gastropods can be extreme. These tiny Diplommatina ventriculus shells from Malaysia are amongst the smallest nonmarine shells. The largest fossil gastropod species is the Campanile gigantum , of which specimens up to 50 cm in length have been found in Europe.
Gastropods take a wide variety of forms. Because they adapted to so many environments early on in their evolutionary history, almost all major forms surviving today can be found in the fossil record. Sizes in species alive today range from the tiny punctum, a forest snail that grows to only 1 mm, to the giant Australian Megalatractus aruanis which can reach over 70 cm in length. The vast majority of gastropods, however, are less than 2cm long.
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