Snail's slime

June 25, 2002
From: Earl Denzel Perez

I want to know what is the composition (preferably, the chemical composition) of a snail slime. That is because we need it in a science research. Thank you very much for the information.
Earl

early_mann@yahoo.com

Perez, E.D., 2002 (Jun 25) Snail's slime. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7346

Dear Earl,
I don't think there is any easy answer to this. Mucus is a very complex substance containing complex molecules called mucopolysaccharides. At times it can also contain calcite crystals and I assume other things we don't know about. In fact the nature of the mucus changes on different parts of a snail's body, sticky and viscous on upper parts and thin and more fluid on the sole of the foot. Presumably different species have mucus with slightly different chemical makeup.
Sorry I can't help more, but there are many things in nature we know little about,
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2002 (Jun 25). Comment on Snail's slime by Earl Denzel Perez. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7346

Factsheet

How sea slugs crawl

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