Kingdom : Animalia Class : Gastropoda Scientific Name : Achatinoidea Size(L) : 0.5cm - 80cm (0.2in - 32in) Weight : 0.01kg - 18kg (0.02lbs - 40lbs) Average Life Span : 1 - 20 years Colour : Black, Brown, Yellow, Tan Skin Type : Shell Distinctive Features : Armoured shell with long, thin eye stems
- Snails are small-medium sized molluscs found all across the world.
- There are mainly three groups of snails- land snails, sea snails and freshwater snails.
- There are around a 1000 species of snails found in the world.
- They are most commonly found in areas where there is ample vegetation.
- Distinctively, they have a hard, coiled outer shell by the time they reach adulthood.
- These large shells protect them by enabling them to retract their bodies in the shell.
- Snails without shells are called slugs and are considered to be different from snails.
- Their ribbon like tongue is called radula which has a lot of microscopic tooth-like structures.
- The radula helps the snail breakdown its food, by working like a file and ripping the food into smaller bits.
- The smaller species of snails are herbivores feeding on leaves, stems flowers and vegetation.
- The larger species may be omnivores as well as carnivores.
- Their slow movements and small size makes them fall prey to numerous birds, rodents and amphibians.
- Snails are hermaphrodites but still have to mate with other snails to fertilize their eggs.
- After a month of mating, the snail lays its eggs in a burrow or a covered leaf.
- The eggs hatch after 2 weeks and the babies take up to 2 years to reach adulthood.
- Their average lifespan varies between 1 and 20 years.
- Snails are thriving in some areas whereas in others they are suffering because of pollution and habitat loss.