User:Nicole verrier/Monadenia fidelis rothii

Classification
"Monadenia fidelis rothii" is a soft bodied mollusk in the class Gastropoda, which includes land snails, aquatic snails and slugs. This unique species depends upon the marble bedrock of Oregon Caves National Monument.

Habitat
Snails prefer shade and moisture, and are often nocturnal. To protect their moist bodies on warm, dry days the snail will retreat into its shell - estivate. On a rainy or foggy day above Oregon Caves the forest comes alive with snails, including the trail back to the visitor center after a cave tour. Look closely near your feet.

Shell Development
A snail is born with its spiral shell made of calcium carbonate. It must have a constant supply of calcium to grow and maintain this sturdy shell. Marble is abundant at Oregon Caves, both in the cave and in the surrounding forest. Snails are nine times more commly seen on marble than any other surface at the Monument, and they extract calcium from the marble (CaCO3) to build their shell.

Eating
Snails are detritivores feeding on decaying plants and the fungi, algae, and bacteria on that plant material. The snail's mouth has a radula, a tough rasp-like tongue with thousands of denticles, hooks that scrape at their food. In a quiet setting a snail may even be heard munching on plants.

Reproduction
Every snail has both mail and female organs, but fertilization requires two snails. After mating both snails go their separate ways to bury their eggs. A few weeks later the translucent babies hatch and eat their eggshell to obtain a initial source of calcium.