JUSTICE BASHEER AHMED SAYEED COLLEGE FOR WOMEN

(Autonomous) Chennai 18.

S.I.E.T.

I BSc Advanced Zoology & Biotechnology

PILA GLOBOSA
Mrs.S.M.Asgari
PILA GLOBOSA
• Apple snail, Pila, is a freshwater snail and is quite abundant in fresh-water
ponds and lakes. They are distributed in the Oriental and Ethiopian regions of
the world. A few species of this genus is found in India, of which the most
common species is Pila globosa. It is one of the largest freshwater molluscs.
• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Mollusca
• Class: Gastropoda
• Family: Ampullariidae
• Subfamily: Ampullariinae
• Tribe: Ampullariini
• Genus: Pila
• Species:P. globosa
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• Pila globosa is abundantly found in ponds, pools, tanks, lakes and rice
fields. They may also be found in fresh water streams, rivers and even in
brackish water of low salinity. They are herbivorous and therefore, quite
abundant in waters, having succulent aquatic vegetation. They are
amphibious form being adapted for life in water as well as on land.
• For this they are provided with two fold respiratory adaptations. They
respire in water by ctenidium and on land by pulmonary sac. Therefore,
they possess double mode of respiration. During prolonged drought they
undergo aestivation for a long time and during rains they return to
normalcy. When disturbed it withdraws itself into its spirally coiled shell
and seals the Opening with its operculum.

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 The body of Pila is enclosed in a thick spirally-coiled globular
Structure of Pila univalve shell. The shell has the form of an elongated cone
coiled around a central axis in a spiral manner. A single
revolution of the shell around the axis is called a whorl.
The extreme top of the shell is called the apex (Fig. 1.80A),
which is regarded as the oldest part of the body. Starting
from the apex the other whorls — the penultimate whorl
and body whorl are large so as to enclose the greater part
of the body. The first whorl is smallest and the last one is
largest
The last whorl contains a large aperture, which can be closed
by a lid called operculum (Fig. 1.80B), which is attached to
the posterior side of the foot. The operculum is a flat
calcareous plate, formed as a cuticular secretion of a group
of cells from the foot. The operculum has a lunate oblong
outline which corresponds to the aperture of the shell. It
shows numerous concentric ring of growth around a
well-marked nucleus.
The inner surface of the operculum shows a distinct elliptical
area called boss (Fig. 1.80B) for the insertion of opercular
muscles. The margin of the aperture is smooth and is called
peristome. A spiral column arising from the centre of the shell
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is present on the inner side called columella (Fig. 1.81C).
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• The type of coiling seen in Pila globosa is right handed and is called
dextral, which is in contrast to the other rare type of left-handed coiling,
called sinistral.

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 • The body of Pila is divisible into the head,
foot and visceral mass. Head is well
marked and prolonged into a partly
contractile snout. It carries two pairs of
tentacles. The longer pair is filament-like,
hollow and contractile. At the base of
each tentacle projects a small, stumpy
eyestalk or ommatophore bearing a
prominent bead-like eye at its tip.
• The shorter pair of tentacles is called
labial palps or first tentacle and is
regarded as the anterio-lateral
prolongation of the snout. Two fleshy
projections, called nuchal lobes or
pseudoepipodia, are seen on the two
sides of the head.
• The lobes projecting anteriorly over the
foot, are the prolongations of the mantle
and are innervated by nerves from the
pleural ganglia. The left nuchal lobe is
highly developed and forms the
respiratory siphon.
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• The foot is large, strongly muscular and is more or less triangular when seen from the ventral side
(Fig. 1.81B). The anterior part of the foot is round and the posterior part of the foot holds the
operculum. The foot of Pila has a broad, flat, smooth ventral surface, the sole, adapted for
creeping movement. It is highly muscular and contains pedal glands.
• The visceral mass forms a sort of hump on the dorsal side and contains all the main organs of the
body. It is spirally coiled like the shell and exhibits the phenomena of torsion. The skin covering
the visceral mass forms the pallium or mantle.
• The mantle subserves three functions in the life of Pila:
• (i) Protects the visceral mass and head,
• (ii) Serves as an additional respiratory organ and
• (iii) Secretes the shell with the help of the shell-secreting nacreous glands at the free margin of
the mantle.
• The mantle is free anteriorly and encloses a spacious cavity known as pallial or mantle cavity,
which houses visceral organs of the animal. The mantle cavity is imperfectly divided into left and
right chambers by a longitudinal ridge known as epitaenium.
• The right chamber contains the ctenidium, rectum and the genital duct. The left chamber
contains the pulmonary sac. There is a comb-like, sensory structure known as osphradium close
to the left nuchal lobe. The mouth and anus are closely situated on the same side of the body.
The anal and the genital apertures are located on the right mantle opening.

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Integumentary System of Pila:
• The skin greatly varies in thickness. It consists of an outer epidermis and an
inner, more complex dermis. The epidermis covering the whole body
consists of a single layer of epithelium, some of which are modified into
unicellular glands, from which mucus, pigment and lime are secreted. The
dermis or corium includes muscle fibres and connective tissue and is quite
rich in pigment cells.
• Body Cavity of Pila:
• The general body cavity in the adult, is haemocoel. The true coelom is
greatly reduced and is represented by the pericardial cavity and the cavities
around the kidney.

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Locomotion in Pila:
• The foot of Pila helps in locomotion. The flat sole of the foot helps Pila to
move very slowly by creeping on the substratum. During movement the
foot is protruded through the opening of the shell and this extension is
brought about by the sudden influx of blood into it. The glands present in
the foot produce a slimy secretion that helps the animal to glide on dry
surface.
• The foot is provided with vertical, longitudinal and transverse muscles.
During locomotion the wave-like contractions on its surface are produced
by the contraction of the vertical muscles. The contraction of the
transverse muscles drives the blood forward which causes the extension
of the foot in front. During this process the longitudinal muscles contract
to pull the posterior end of the foot forward.
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Respiratory System of Pila:

• Pila is amphibious in nature and exhibits double mode of respiration.

It is capable of absorbing oxygen dissolved in water by ctenidia or gills
and is also capable of utilizing atmospheric oxygen by the pulmonary
sac.

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