A gastropod with a coiled shell big enough to pull itself into. Land snails are the familiar ones, but most snail species live in the sea, and many more in fresh water.
Quick answers
What is it?Mollusc
Carnivore?No, herbivore
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Night
Land snails are most active at night and after rain, when the damp air keeps them from drying out.
Hibernates?Yes
Some land snails hibernate through winter, sealing the shell opening with a dried layer of mucus to stay moist. They may also go dormant in summer droughts.
Kept as a pet?Sometimes
Snails are occasionally kept as household pets, though land snails are better known as garden and farm pests.
Do people eat it?Yes
Eaten in many cultures and farmed for food in some places.
At a glance
Found inWorldwide
HabitatForest, Farmland, Rivers & lakes, Coast, Open ocean
ColoursBrown, Grey
SizeTiny
Length0.6 mm (shell) to 39 cm (giant African land snail)
LegsNone
Covered inShell
Lives alone
Lives for2–7 years
Lays eggs
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Worldwide: on land from ditches to deserts, in fresh water, and in the sea down to the abyssal depths.
- What it eats
- Most land snails eat plants, living or dead. Some land snails and many sea snails are omnivores or predators.
Did you know
Has thousands of microscopic teeth on a ribbon-like tongue.
The ancient dye Tyrian purple, worn by royalty, was made from the secretions of certain sea snails.
Often confused with
- Slug
A snail has a coiled shell big enough to pull into. A slug has no shell, or only a tiny one.
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