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Garden Snail

Mollusks

Garden Snail

The garden snail is a common land snail native to the Mediterranean region but now found across much of Europe and widely introduced elsewhere in the world, familiar to gardeners for its coiled, brownish shell, moist grey body and habit of feeding on a broad range of garden plants, often considered a pest for the damage it can do to vegetables and ornamental plants. It moves slowly on a single muscular foot, gliding over a trail of mucus that reduces friction and helps protect its soft body from rough or sharp surfaces, and it is most active at night or after rain, when cooler, damper conditions reduce the risk of drying out. Garden snails are hermaphrodites, possessing both male and female reproductive organs, and during an elaborate courtship ritual mating pairs exchange small calcium structures known as love darts before fertilizing one another's eggs. In dry or cold conditions the garden snail can seal the opening of its shell with a layer of dried mucus and enter a dormant state for extended periods, and in some cultures the species is also farmed and eaten as a food source, most famously in French cuisine as a type of escargot.

Facts

Classification

Diet

Omnivore 2

System (Realm)

Terrestrial 3

Relationship to People

Agricultural or Structural Pest 1

Identification

Distinguishing Appearance

A coiled, banded calcareous shell of four or five whorls carried above a soft, moist grey body and a single muscular gliding foot with two tentacles. 1

Comparison

NatureServe Rank

G5 Secure 4

CITES Appendix

Not Listed 5

Scientific Name

Cornu aspersum 2

Conservation Status

Least Concern 2

Connections

Child Taxon Of

Source Wikidata: Garden Snail

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Bosnia and Herzegovina

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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.

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. Cornu aspersum, garden snail (Wikipedia)

Shell description

Quote, Shell description

The adult bears a hard, thin calcareous shell 25-40 millimetres (1-1 5/8 in) in diameter and 25-35 millimetres (1-1 3/8 in) high, with four or five whorls.

2. Wikipedia: Cornu aspersum

Wikipedia

Wikidata Q22019793 (P225 taxon name)
infobox status=LC
Lead
It also is an omnivorous scavenger that will feed on rotting plant material and on occasion scavenge animal matter, such as crushed snails and worms.

View the Source

3. GBIF Species API

GBIF Species APIView the Source

4. NatureServe Explorer: Cornu aspersum

NatureServe ExplorerGlobal rank (roundedGRank)

Quote, Global rank (roundedGRank)

"roundedGRank": "G5"

View the Source

5. UNEP-WCMC Species+ database (CITES Secretariat): Species+: Gastropoda

UNEP-WCMC Species+ database (CITES Secretariat)Species+ taxon_concepts, id 44

Quote, Species+ taxon_concepts, id 44

"cites_listing":"I/II/NC","eu_listing":"A/B/D/NC","higher_taxa":{"kingdom":"Animalia","phylum":"Mollusca","class":"Gastropoda","order":null,"family":null},"synonyms":[],"common_names":[{"name":"Snails And Conches","language":"EN"},{"name":"Escargots Et Strombes","language":"FR"},{"name":"Caracoles Y Conchas","language":"ES"},{"name":"腹足纲","language":"ZH"}],"cites_listings":[]

View the Source

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

International Union for Conservation of NatureView the Source

Wikidata: Garden Snail

Wikidata Q22019793, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)
Child Taxon Of: Gastropoda, Wikidata parent-taxon (P171) chain

View the Source

UNEP-WCMC Species+ database (CITES Secretariat): Species+: Stylommatophora

UNEP-WCMC Species+ database (CITES Secretariat)Species+ taxon_concepts, id 74

Quote, Species+ taxon_concepts, id 74

"cites_listing":"I/II/NC","eu_listing":"A/B/NC","higher_taxa":{"kingdom":"Animalia","phylum":"Mollusca","class":"Gastropoda","order":"Stylommatophora","family":null},"synonyms":[],"common_names":[{"name":"柄眼目","language":"ZH"}],"cites_listings":[]

View the Source

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