Glossary of gastropod terms
Introduction The following is a glossary of common English language and scientific terms used in the description of gastropods. * '''Abapical''' – away from the apex of a shell toward the base* '''Acephalous''' – Headless. * '''Acinose''' – Full of small bulgings; resembling the kernel in a nut. * '''Aculeate''' – Very sharply pointed, as the teeth on the radula of some snails. * '''Acuminate''' – gradually tapering to a point, as the spire of some shells. * '''Acute''' – Sharp or pointed, as the spire of a shell, or the lip of a shell. * '''Adapical ''' – toward the apex of a shell ( abapical)* '''Admedian''' – Next to the central object, as the lateral teeth on the lingual membrane. * '''Adpressed''' – with overlapping whorls or with a suture tightly pressed to the previous whorl (preferred to the term appressed)* '''Afferent''' – To bring in; when relating to a vessel or duct, indicating that it brings in its contents. * '''Amoeboid''' – Shaped like an amoeba, a small animalcule. * '''Amorphous''' – Without distinct form. * '''Amphibious''' – Inhabiting both land and water. * '''Amphidetic''' – With the ligament on both sides of the umbones. * '''Anal canal''' – Tubular of gutter-like opening in the shell of a gastropod through which excrements are expelled (see also: siphonal canal)* '''Analogue''' – A likeness between two objects when otherwise they are totally different, as the wing of a bird and the wing of a butterfly. * '''Anastomosing''' – Coming together. * '''Annular''' – Made up of rings. * '''Anterior''' – The front or fore end. * '''Aquatic''' – Inhabiting the water. * '''Arborescent''' – Branching like a tree. * '''Arched''' – Bowed or bent in a curve. * '''Arcti-spiral''' – Tightly coiled, as some spiral shells. * '''Asphyxiating''' – Causing suspended animation; apparent death. * '''Assimilation''' – Act of converting one substance into another, as the changing of food-stuffs into living bodies. * '''Asymmetrical''' – Not symmetrical. * '''Atrium'''* '''Atrophied''' – Wasted away. * '''Attenuate''' – Long and slender, as in some shells. * '''Auditory''' – Connected with the hearing. * '''Auricled''' – Eared, or with ear-like appendages. * '''Basal''' – The bottom or lower part. * '''Biangulate''' – With two angles. * '''Bicuspid or bicuspidate''' – Having two cusps. * '''Bifid''' – Having two arms or prongs. * '''Bifurcated''' – Having two branches. * '''Bilateral''' – With two sides. * '''Bilobed''' – With two lobes. * '''Blood sinus''' * '''Bulbous''' – Swollen. * '''Calcareous''' – Composed of carbonate of lime. * '''Callosity''' – A hardened and raised bunch, as the callus on the columella of some shells. * '''Callus''' – A deposit of shelly matter. * '''Campanulate''' – Formed like a bell. * '''Canaliculate''' – Resembling a canal, as the deep sutures in some shells. * '''Cancellated''' – Formed of cross-bars, as the longitudinal and spiral lines which cross in some shells. * '''Cardiac pouch''' – Containing the heart and placed near the umb'ones of the shell. * '''Carinate''' – Keeled. With keel. * '''Cartilaginous''' – Like cartilage. * '''Caudal''' – Tail-like, or with a tail-like appendage. * '''Cellular''' – Made up of cells. * '''Cerebral''' – Pertaining to the brain. * '''Channeled''' – Grooved or formed like a channel. * '''Chitinous''' – Formed of chitin, as the radulas of gastropods. * '''Ciliary''' – By means of cilia. * '''Ciliated''' – Having cilia. * '''Cilium (plural cilia)''' – A lash; used to designate the hairs on the mantle, gills, etc. * '''Clavate''' – Club-shaped. * '''Coarctate''' – Pressed together, narrowed. * '''Concave''' – Excavated, hollowed out. * '''Conchiolin''' * '''Conic''' – Shaped like a cone. * '''Connective''' – A part connecting two other parts, as a muscle connecting two parts of the body, or a nerve connecting two ganglia. * '''Constricted''' – Narrowed. * '''Contractile''' – Capable of being contracted or drawn in, as the tentacle of a snail. * '''Convex''' – Bulged out, as the whorls of some snails. * '''Convoluted''' – Rolled together. * '''Cordate''' – Heart-shaped. * '''Corneous''' – Horn-like, as the opercula of some gastropods. * '''Corrugated''' – Roughened by wrinkles. * '''Costate''' – Having rib-like ridges. * '''Crenulate''' – Wrinkled on the edges. * '''Crescentic''' – Like a crescent. * '''Cylindrical''' – Like a cylinder. * '''Decollated''' – Cut off, as the apex of some shells. * '''Decussated''' – With spiral and longitudinal lines intersecting, as the sculpture of some shells. * '''Deflexed''' – Bent downward, as the last whorl in some snails. * '''Dentate''' – With points or nodules resembling teeth, as the aperture of some snails. * '''Denticulate''' – Finely dentate. * '''Depressed''' – Flattened, as the spire in some snails. * '''Dextral''' – Right-handed. * '''Digitiform''' – Finger-like. * '''Dilated''' – Expanded in all directions, as the aperture of a shell. * '''Dimorphism''' – With two forms or conditions. * '''Dioecious''' – Having the sexes in two individuals, one male and one female. * '''Distal''' – The farthest part from an object. * '''Discoidal''' – Shaped like a flat disk. * '''Diverticulum''' – A pouch or hole, as the pouch containing the radula, or that containing the dart in helices. * '''Dormant''' – In a state of torpor or sleep. * '''Dorsal''' – The back. In gastropods the opposite to the aperture. * '''Ectocone''' – The outer cusp on the teeth of the radula. * '''Edentulous''' – Without teeth or folds, as the aperture in some gastropods. * '''Efferent''' – Carrying out. * '''Elliptical''' – With an oval form. * '''Elongated''' – Drawn out, as the spire of a shell. * '''Emarginate''' – Bluntly notched. * '''Encysted''' – Enclosed in a cyst. * '''Entocone''' – The inner cusp on the teeth of the radula. * '''Entire''' – With even, unbroken edges, as the aperture of some shells. * '''Epiphallus''' – A portion of the vas deferens which becomes modified into a tube-like organ and is continued beyond the apex of the penis; it frequently bears a blind duct, or flagellum. * '''Epithelium''' – All tissues bounding a free surface. * '''Equidistant''' – Equally spaced, as the spiral lines on some snail shells. * '''Equilibrating''' – Balancing equally. * '''Eroded''' – Worn away, as the epidermis on some shells. * '''Erosive''' – Capable of erosion. * '''Excavated''' – Hollowed out, as the columella of some snails. * '''Excurrent''' – Referring to the siphon which carries out the waste matter of the body. * '''Exoskeleton''' – The outer skeleton; all shells are exoskeletons. * '''Exserted''' – Brought out. * '''Expanded''' – Spread out, as the lip of some shells. * '''Falcate''' – Scythe-shaped. * '''Fasciculus''' – A little bundle. * '''Flagellate''' – Animals with a flagellum or lash. * '''Flexuous''' – Formed in a series of curves or turnings, as the columella in some shells. * '''Flocculent''' – Clinging together in bunches. * '''Fluviatile''' – Living in running streams. * '''Fusiform''' – Thick in the middle and tapering at each end. * '''Gelatinous''' – Like jelly, as the eggs of some mollusks. * '''Gibbous''' – Very much rounded, as the whorls in some snails. * '''Glandular''' – Like a gland. * '''Globose''' – Rounded. * '''Granulated''' – Covered with little grains. * '''Gravid''' – A female mollusk with ovaries distended with young. * '''Gregarious''' – Living in colonies. * '''Gular''' – Relating to the windpipe or palate. In mollusks, referring to the innermost part of the aperture. * '''Habitat''' – Locality of a species. * '''Hasmolymph''' – Molluscan blood. * '''Heliciform''' – In form like ''Helix''. * '''Hemispherical''' – Half a sphere. * '''Herbivorous''' – Subsisting upon vegetable food. * '''Hermaphrodite''' – Having the sexes united in the same individual. * '''Hibernation''' – The act of hibernating or going to sleep for the winter months. * '''Hirsute''' – Covered with hairs, as some snails. * '''Hispid''' – Same as hirsute. * '''Homologous''' – Having the same position or value, as the wing of a bird and of a bat. * '''Hyaline''' – Glassy. * '''Imperforate''' – Not perforated or umbilicated. * '''Impressed''' – Marked by a furrow, as the impressed spiral lines on some gastropod shells. * '''Incrassate''' – Thickened. * '''Incurved''' – Leaned or bent over, as the apex in some snails. * '''Indented''' – Notched. * '''Inflected''' – Turned in, as the teeth of some snails. * '''Inhalent''' – Same as incurrent. * '''Inoperculate''' – Without an operculum. * '''Intercostate''' – Between the ribs or ridges. * '''Invaginate''' – One part bending into another, as the tentacles of some land snails. * '''Invertible''' – Capable of being inverted, or drawn in, as the eye-peduncles of a land snail. * '''Juvenile''' * '''Keeled''' – With a more or less sharp projection at the periphery. * '''Lamellated''' – Covered with scales. * '''Lamelliform''' – Having the form of scales. * '''Laminated''' – Consisting of plates or scales laid over each other. * '''Lanceolate''' – Gradually tapering to a point. * '''Lateral''' – Pertaining to the side. * '''Latticed''' – (See decussated. )* '''Lobulate''' – Composed of lobes. * '''Longitudinal''' – The length of a shell. * '''Lunate''' – Shaped like a half moon, as the aperture in some shells. * '''Malleated''' – Appearing as though hammered. * '''Manducatory''' – Relating to the apparatus for masticating food. In snails, the jaws and radula. * '''Median''' – Middle, as the middle tooth on the radula. * '''Mesocene''' – The middle cusp on the teeth of the radula. * '''Monoecius''' – Having the sexes united in the same individual. * '''Multifid''' – Made up of many lobes or projections, as the cusps on some radulae. * '''Multispiral''' – Consisting of many whorls, as some fresh-water snails. * '''Nacreous''' – Pearly or iridescent. * '''Nepionic''' – The second stage of the embryonic shell, as the glochidium. * '''Notched''' – Nicked or indented, as the anterior canal of some gastropods. * '''Nucleus''' – The first part or beginning, as the apex in a gastropod shell. * '''Nucleated''' – Having a nucleus. * '''Obconic''' – In the form of a reversed cone. * '''Oblique''' – Slanting, as the aperture of some shells when not parallel to the longitudinal axis. * '''Obovate''' – Reversed ovate, as some shells when the diameter is greater near the upper than at the lower part. * '''Obtuse''' – Dull or blunt, as the apex of some gastropods. * '''Olfactory''' – Pertaining to the smell. * '''Olivaceous''' – Colored like an olive. * '''Organism''' – An organized being, or living object made up of organs. * '''Ovate''' – Egg-shaped. * '''Ovately conic''' – Shaped like an egg, but with a somewhat conic apex, as some gastropods. * '''Oviparous''' – Bringing forth young in an egg which is hatched after it is laid. * '''Ovisac''' – A pouch in which the eggs or embryos are contained. * '''Ovoviviparous''' – In this case the young are formed in an egg but are hatched inside the parent. * '''Pallial lung''' * '''Papillose''' – Covered with many little bulgings or pimples. * '''Parallel''' – Having the same relative distance in all parts, as when the spiral lines in univalve shells are the same distance apart all the way around. * '''Patelliform''' – Shaped like a flattened-out cone, as an ''Ancylus''. * '''Patulous''' – Open and spreading, as the aperture in some gastropods. * '''Paucispiral''' – Only slightly spiral, as some opercula. * '''Pectinate''' – Like the teeth of a comb, as the gills of some mollusks. * '''Pedal''' – Pertaining to the foot. * '''Pedunculated''' – Supported on a stem or stalk, as the eyes of land snails. * '''Pellucid''' – Transparent or clear, as the shells of some snails; e. g. ''Vitrea''. * '''Penultimate''' – The whorl before the last in gastropod shells. * '''Pericardium''' – The chamber containing the heart. * '''Periostracum''' – The epidermal covering of some shells. * '''Pervious''' – Very narrowly open, as the umbilicus in some snails. * '''Phytophagus''' – Vegetable-feeding. * '''Pilose''' – Covered with hairs. * '''Pinnate''' – Branched like a feather, as the gills of some mollusks. * '''Plaited''' – Folded. * '''Planispiral shell''' * '''Planorboid''' – Flat and orb-like, as some snails. * '''Pleurae''' – Relating to the side of a body. * '''Plexus''' – A network of vessels, as the form of the lungs in snails. * '''Plicated''' – Made up of folds. * '''Plumose''' – Resembling plumes. * '''Polygonal''' – Having many angles. * '''Porcellanous''' – Like porcelain. * '''Prismatic''' – Like a prism. * '''Prodissoconch''' – The embryonic shell. * '''Protoconch''' – The embryonic shell. * '''Protract''' – To push out. * '''Protractor pedis''' – The foot protractor muscle. * '''Protrusile''' – Capable of being pushed out. * '''Proximal''' – The nearest end of an object. * '''Pulsation''' – A throb, as the throbbing of the heart. * '''Pupiform''' – Like a pupa; one of the stages in the development of an insect. * '''Pustulate''' – Covered with pustules or little pimples. * '''Pustulose''' – Same as pustulate. * '''Pyramidal''' – Having the form of a pyramid. * '''Pyriform''' – Shaped like a pear. * '''Reflected''' – Bent backward, as the lip in some snails. * '''Reflexed''' – Same as Reflected. * '''Renal''' – Relating to the kidneys. * '''Reticulated''' – Resembling a network, as when the longitudinal and spiral lines cross in a snail. * '''Retractile''' – Capable of being drawn in, as the eye peduncles in land snails. * '''Retractor pedis''' – Foot retractor muscle. * '''Revolving lines''' – Spiral lines on a snail shell which run parallel with the sutures. * '''Rhombic''' – Having four sides, the angles being oblique. * '''Rhomboid''' – Four-sided, but two of the sides being longer than the others. * '''Rimate''' – Provided with a very small hole or crack, as some snails in which the umbilicus is very narrowly open. * '''Roundly lunate''' – Rounder than lunate (which see). * '''Rostriform''' – In the form of a rostrum. * '''Rudimentary''' – Not fully formed; imperfect. * '''Rugose''' – Rough or wrinkled, as parts of some shells. * '''Sacculated''' – Somewhat like a sac, or composed of sac-like parts. * '''Scalar''' – Resembling a ladder. * '''Secreted''' – Produced or deposited from the blood or glands, as the shell material in mollusks. * '''Semicircular''' – Half round or circular, as the aperture in some snails. * '''Semidentate''' – Half toothed, as the parietal wall in some land snails. * '''Semielliptic''' – Half elliptical. * '''Semiglobose''' – Half, or not quite globose. * '''Semilunate''' – Half lunate. * '''Semioval''' – Half, or not quite oval. * '''Serrated''' – Notched, like the teeth on a saw. * '''Serriform''' – In the form of series. * '''Sessile''' – Attached without a stem, as the eyes in some water snails. * '''Shouldered''' – Ridged, as the whorls in some snails. * '''Sigmoid''' – Shaped like the letter S.* '''Siliceous''' – Made up of silex. * '''Sinistral''' – Having the aperture on the left side. * '''Sinusigerid''' – with a diagonally cancellate (structure)* '''Sinuous''' – Curved in and out, as the edge of some bivalves and the lips of some snails. * '''Siphonal canal''' – semi-tubular extension of the aperture of the shell through which the siphon is extended when the animal is active* '''Spatulate''' – In the form of a spatula, a flat-bladed instrument used by druggists in pulverizing drugs. * '''Spherical''' – Shaped like a sphere. * '''Spiral''' – Wound about a central cavity, as the whorls of snails. * '''Striated''' – Marked by lines or striae. * '''Subangulated''' – Moderately angled. * '''Subcarinated''' – Moderately carinated. * '''Subcentral''' – Not quite in the center. * '''Subcircular''' – Not quite circular. * '''Subconical''' – Moderately conical. * '''Subcylindrical''' – Moderately cylindrical. * '''Subequal''' – Not quite equal. * '''Subexcavated''' – A little excavated. * '''Subfusiform''' – Moderately fusiform. * '''Subglobose''' – Moderately globose. * '''Subglobular''' – Moderately globular. * '''Subhyaline''' – Moderately glassy. * '''Subimperforate''' – Not much perforated. * '''Suboblong''' – Moderately oblong. * '''Subobsolete''' – Almost disappearing. * '''Subovate''' – Nearly ovate. * '''Subparallel''' – Almost parallel. * '''Subperforated''' – Almost perforated. * '''Subquadrate''' – Almost four-sided. * '''Subreflected''' – Moderately turned back. * '''Subrotund''' – Moderately round. * '''Subspiral''' – Moderately spiral. * '''Subtriangulate''' – Moderately or almost triangular. * '''Subtrigonal''' – Moderately three-angled. * '''Subtruncate''' – Moderately cut off. * '''Subumbilicated''' – Moderately umbilicated. * '''Sulcated''' – Grooved. * '''Sulcus''' – A longitudinal furrow. * '''Superanal''' – Above the anus. * '''Supra-peripheral''' – Above the periphery. * '''Symmetrical''' – Alike on both sides or uniform in all parts. * '''Terrestrial''' – Living on the land. * '''Testaceous''' – Composed of shelly matter. * '''Torsion''' – A twisting around. * '''Tortuous''' – Twisted or winding. * '''Torpid''' – Half unconscious or asleep, as a snail during hibernation. * '''Translucent''' – Not quite transparent; light is seen through the thin edges of the object. * '''Transparent''' – Objects may be seen through the substance. * '''Transverse''' – Referring to the form of a shell when it is wider than high. * '''Tricuspidate''' – Having three cusps. * '''Trifid''' – Having three branches. * '''Trigonal''' – Having three angles. * '''Trilobate''' – Having three lobes. * '''Tripartite''' – Divided into three parts, as the foot of some snails. * '''Truncate''' – Having the end cut off squarely. * '''Tuberculate''' – Covered with tubercles or rounded knobs. * '''Turbinate''' – Having the form of a top. * '''Turriculated''' – Having the form of a tower. * '''Turreted''' – Having the form of a tower. * '''Umbilicated''' – Having an opening in the base of the shell. * '''Undulated''' – Having undulations or waves. * '''Univalve''' – Having the shell composed of a single piece, as a snail. * '''Varicose''' – Swollen or enlarged. * '''Vascular''' – Containing or made up of blood vessels. * '''Vermiform''' – Formed like a worm. * '''Ventral''' – The lower border or side. * '''Ventricose''' – Swollen or inflated on the ventral side. * '''Vibratile''' – Moving from side to side. * '''Vitreous''' – Resembling glass, as some snails.
See also * outline of gastropods* Glossary of biology* Glossary of scientific names* Glossary of scientific naming
References This article include public domain text from Baker, ''The Mollusca of the Chicago area'', 1898-1902.