Snail Facts
A snail is a gastropod mollusk with a coiled shell big enough to pull its whole body inside, and the name covers land, freshwater and sea species.
- Class
- Mollusk
About the snail
Snails turn up in ditches, deserts and the deepest parts of the ocean. Land snails are the ones most people picture, yet sea snails make up most species and outweigh them in total mass. Some breathe with lungs and others with gills, and over time both types have spread so far that gilled snails live on land and lunged ones live in freshwater.
Most snails eat with a radula, a ribbon-shaped tongue lined with thousands of tiny teeth that files food into bits. Many graze on plants or scrape algae, while some land snails and many sea snails eat other animals. Sizes vary a lot. Giant African land snails can reach 38 cm (15 in) and 1 kg, and the sea snail Syrinx aruanus has a shell up to 90 cm long.
Did you know?
- A snail that eats colored paper or cardboard ends up with colored droppings.
- Shell-less gastropods are usually called slugs, and land snails with tiny shells are semi-slugs.
- With its shell, the biggest sea snail can weigh as much as 18 kg (40 lb).
Questions about the snail
What do snails eat?
Many eat plants or algae, but some land species and lots of sea species hunt other animals or eat a mix.
How big can a snail get?
Giant African land snails reach 38 cm, and the largest sea snail's shell can hit 90 cm.
Sources
- Wikidata Q308841, checked October 8, 2026
- Wikipedia: Snail, checked October 8, 2026
Facts are compiled from these open sources and rewritten in our own words. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.