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Apple snails are tropical and sub-tropical freshwater snails. They are named for their round shell, which is apple shaped, technically referred to as a globose shell. They are particularly well adaped to areas which experience alternating drought and deluge; they possess a shell door which allows them to close their shell to prevent drying out during droughts.
Unlike many other freshwater gastropods, Apple Snails have both a lung and a gill. This allows them to live even in oxygen-poor waters. Apple snails are found in stagnant pools such as swamps and rice paddies. They feed on both plants and crustaceans with their radula, a u-shaped row of teeth. A characteristic feature of apple snails is its siphon, a tube like organ used to breath through while submerged.
Apple snails are edible by humans but must be cooked thoroughly to prevent the possibility of transferring parasites.
Introduction of foreign species of apple snails into new habitats can be very destructive to the native ecology.
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