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Snail
Snail Facts
| Kingdom: Five groups that classify all living things | Animalia |
| Phylum: A group of animals within the animal kingdom | Mollusca |
| Class: A group of animals within a pylum | Gastropoda |
| Order: A group of animals within a class | Achatinoidea |
| Common Name: Most widely used name for this species | Snail |
| Scientific Name: The name of the animal in science | Achatinoidea |
| Location: The place where something is found | Worldwide |
| Diet: What kind of foods the animal eats | Herbivore |
| Size (L): How long (L) or tall (H) the animal is | 0.5cm - 80cm (0.2in - 32in) |
| Weight: The measurement of how heavy the animal is | 0.01kg - 18kg (0.02lbs - 40lbs) |
| Number Of Species: The total number of recorded species | 1,000 |
| Average Lifespan: The average time the animal lives for | 1 - 20 years |
| Conservation Status: The likelihood of the animal becoming extinct | Least Concern |
| Colour: The colour of the animal's coat or markings | Black. Brown, Yellow, Tan |
| Skin Type: The protective layer of the animal | Shell |
| Favourite Food: The preferred food of this animal | Leaves |
| Habitat: The specific area where the animal lives | Well-vegetated areas |
| Average Litter Size: The average number of babies born at once | 200 |
| Main Prey: The food that the animal gains energy from | Leaves, Fruits, Stems |
| Predators: Other animals that hunt and eat the animal | Rodents, Frogs, Birds |
| Distinctive Features: Characteristics unique to this animal | Armoured shell with long, thin eye stems |
Snail Location
Snail
The snail is a small to medium sized mollusc that is generally split into three groups which are land snails, sea snails and freshwater snails. There are nearly 1,000 different species of snail that are spread throughout the world's continents.
The snail is found on every continent on Earth with the possible exception of Antarctica, although it is thought that there are a number of marine snail species inhabiting the chilly waters that surround the South Pole. Although snails are found across a wide variety of habitats, they are most commonly spotted lunching in areas where there is plenty of vegetation.
Snails are distinctive animals due to the fact that they have a hard, coiled outer shell when they reach adulthood. All true snails are known to have large protective shells that they are able to retract their bodies into for protection. Snails that do not have a shell are not snails, but slugs.
In order to break down their food, most snails have thousands of microscopic tooth-like structures located on a ribbon-like tongue called a radula. The radula works like a file, ripping the food into small pieces for the hungry snail.
Snails are generally herbivores, primarily eating vegetation such as leaves, stems and flowers. Some larger snail species however, are known to be more predatory animals either being omnivores or, in some cases, full-on carnivores.
Due to their relatively small size, and slow-paced movement, snails are preyed upon by numerous animal species all around the world. Rodents, birds and amphibians such as frogs and toads are some of the snail's main predators, and also fish for those snails that are inhabiting marine environments.
Despite being hermaphrodites (meaning that they possess both male and female reproductive organs), snails have to mate with another snail in order to fertilise their eggs. Up to a month after mating, the snails lay small white eggs into a burrow in the ground or on a covered leaf, which hatch after a couple of weeks. Baby snails can take up to two years to reach full adulthood.
Today, snails are thriving in some areas of the world but are suffering in others. This can be for a number of reasons which include pollution, habitat loss or changes to the native food chain.
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First Published: 14th June 2010, Last Updated: 8th November 2019
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