Wegvallen van kleur na beschadiging van een Haarslak Trochulus hispidus. Speculeren over een intrigerende reparatie

A shell of a Hairy snail Trochulus hispidus with a remarkable repair was collected. After a significant damage of the shell’s aperture the snail succeeded to fully regenerate the last part of the body whorl – but with loss of its initial brown colour. As an explanation, formation of a ‘stress protein’ in reaction to the damaging event is suggested. Such stress protein may have interfered with the phenol-oxidase cascade that – among others – is involved in the melanin-producing pathway.