Upside-down gliding of Lymnaea.
The pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis can often be observed moving upside down on its back just below the surface of the water. We have termed this form of movement "upside-down gliding." To elucidate the mechanism of this locomotion, we performed a series of experiments involving behavioral analyses and microscopic observations. These experiments were designed (1) to measure the speed of this locomotion; (2) to determine whether the mucus secreted from the foot of Lymnaea repels water, thereby allowing the snail to exploit the surface tension of the water for upside-down gliding; and (3) to observe the beating of foot cilia in this behavior. The beating of these cilia is thought to be the primary driving force for upside-down gliding. Our results demonstrate that upside-down gliding is an efficient active process involving the secretion of mucus that floats up to the water surface to serve as a substrate upon which cilia beat to cause locomotion at the underside of the water surface.
Aono
Kanako
K
Biology Club, Hokkaido Sapporo Okadama High School, 2-chome, Kitaokadama 1-jo, Higashi-ku, Sapporo 007-0881, Japan.
Fusada
Ayachika
A
Fusada
Yorichika
Y
Ishii
Wataru
W
Kanaya
Yuji
Y
Komuro
Mami
M
Matsui
Kanae
K
Meguro
Satoru
S
Miyamae
Ayumi
A
Miyamae
Yurie
Y
Murata
Aya
A
Narita
Shizuka
S
Nozaka
Hiroe
H
Saito
Wakana
W
Watanabe
Ayumi
A
Nishikata
Kaori
K
Kanazawa
Akira
A
Fujito
Yutaka
Y
Yamagishi
Miki
M
Abe
Takashi
T
Nagayama
Masafumi
M
Uchida
Tsutomu
T
Gohara
Kazutoshi
K
Lukowiak
Ken
K
Ito
Etsuro
E
D000818:Animals; D002923:Cilia / Q000502:physiology*; D003902:Detergents; D008124:Locomotion; D008195:Lymnaea / Q000502:physiology*; D009093:Mucus / Q000502:physiology*; D013500:Surface Tension
D003902:Detergents