Internal Anatomy
The pair of tentacles on the head of have eye spots, but the main sensory organs of cowry are likely to be receptors for olfaction on the epithelium of papillae which branch off the mantle.
The nervous system of gastropods includes the peripheral nervous system and the central nervous system. The central nervous system consist of ganglia connected by nerve cells, including cerebral ganglia, pedal ganglia and osphradial ganglia.
As the gold ring cowry is a herbivore, the radula is adapted for rasping. It is situated within the mouth of the animal. The gold ring cowry also has a siphon siphon that extends out from the mantle edge, which sucks water into the mantle cavity and over the gill, for respiration. It is also used to 'taste' and detect prey.
Gastropods have open circulatory system and the transport fluid is hemolymph. The hemal system is lined with connective tissue and no cells. It is the primary transport system for a gastropod and veins and arteries connect up large hemocoels in the head, foot and visceral mass.
The primary organs of excretion in gastropods are nephridia, which produce either ammonia or uric acid as a waste product.
General diagram of gastropod anatomy (Wikimedia commons user: Snek01) |