A thin membrane or seal that certain snails, slugs, and other animals create to block their shell opening during dormancy or dry seasons.
From Greek 'epi-' (upon) + 'phragma' (fence, partition, from 'phrassein' to fence in). The term was adopted in zoology to describe this protective biological barrier.
Land snails create these remarkable biological doors to survive drought—it's like they're building a tiny airlock to ride out bad weather. Scientists can actually tell a snail's age by counting epiphragm layers, similar to tree rings.
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