The strategy uses shells to respond to snail attacks

Japanese and Russian scientists discovered two snails capable of attacking enemies by swinging the shell back and forth.

The research team at Hokkaido University and Tohoku University, Japan, collaborated with researchers at the Russian Academy of Science to find out how the interaction between predators and prey affects how the process progresses. chemistry of prey. They observed the defense mechanisms of snails belonging to the genus Karaftohelix before predators are carabid beetles , according to UPI.

Snails use shells to deal with the beetle's attack.(Photo: Blogspot).

The results of the study published in Scientific Reports November 11 showed that the snail Karaftohelix gainesi lived in Hokkaido, Japan, and Karaftohelix selskii lived in the Russian Far East, reacting very nicely to the attack. of beetles. Instead of retreating the soft body into the protective shell, they swung the shell back and forth like a stick to attack the beetles approaching.

"The behavior of snails and their shell shapes are correlated to optimize the priority defense strategy," said Yuta Morii, the study's lead author.

By analyzing the DNA sequence of a snail, scientists discovered that two passive defense methods (creeping into the shell) and active defense (using shells to attack the enemy) evolved poisonously. establish together in snails living in Japan and Russia.