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Roman Snail

Mollusks

Helix pomatia, commonly called the Roman snail, Burgundy snail or escargot, is a large, air breathing land snail native to Europe, with a globular brown shell that is creamy white to light brown with darker banding, thirty to fifty millimetres wide and thirty to forty five millimetres tall, made up of five to six whorls around a large aperture. It is naturally distributed across central and southern Europe, living in forests and shrubland as well as gardens and other human altered habitats, at elevations up to two thousand one hundred metres in the Alps, and has also been introduced to North America. The species is hermaphroditic, beginning to reproduce in late May and laying clutches of forty to sixty five eggs, and it seals its shell with a chalky epiphragm during hibernation or dry periods. Roman snails were eaten by the ancient Romans and remain especially popular in French cuisine, where cooked specimens are called escargot, though the species is difficult to farm commercially. It is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN and receives legal protection in several European countries.

Facts
Classification
Diet
Herbivore 2
System (Realm)
Terrestrial 3
Relationship to People
Agricultural or Structural Pest 2
Living or Extinct
Yes 1
Derived from this species' own Conservation Status: this atlas's IUCN category list has no Extinct value, so a set conservation-status is itself evidence of living status.
Comparison
NatureServe Rank
G5 Secure 4
CITES Appendix
Not Listed 2
Identification
Distinguishing Appearance
Shell creamy white to light brownish, often with brown colour bands. 1
Scientific Name
Helix pomatia 1
Conservation Status
Least Concern 1
Connections

Child Taxon Of

Helicidae, Taxa
Source GBIF Backbone Taxonomy: Helix pomatia

In Biome

Source Helix pomatia, Wikipedia
In the Other Atlases

Found In

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Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

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Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

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Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

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Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Sources
1. Helix pomatia, Wikipedia
  • Introduction
    Helix pomatia, known as the Roman snail, Burgundy snail, or escargot, is a species of large, air-breathing stylommatophoran land snail belonging to the family Helicidae and native to Europe.
  • Conservation section
    This species is listed in IUCN Red List, and in European Red List of Non-marine Molluscs as of least concern.
  • Description
    The shell is creamy white to light brownish, often with indistinct brown colour bands although sometimes the banding is well developed and conspicuous.
  • In Biome: Xeric Shrubland, Habitat
    In Central Europe, it occurs in forests and shrubland, as well as in various synanthropic habitats.
View the Source
2. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Helix pomatia
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
  • Primary Diet, Helix pomatia
    Primary Diet herbivore herbivore
  • Economic Importance for Humans: Negative Impacts
    Negative Impacts crop pest
  • Conservation Status: CITES
    CITES No special status
View the Source
3. GBIF Species API
GBIF Species APIView the Source
4. NatureServe Explorer: Helix pomatia
NatureServe ExplorerGlobal rank (roundedGRank)
Quote, Global rank (roundedGRank)
"roundedGRank": "G5"
View the Source
Wikidata: Roman Snail
Wikidata Q245314, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
GBIF Backbone Taxonomy: Helix pomatia
GBIF Backbone TaxonomyChild Taxon Of: Helicidae, Taxon record
Quote, Child Taxon Of: Helicidae, Taxon record
"family": "Helicidae"
View the Source
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