Interesting facts about snails

SNAILS are the world’s slowest animals, moving about 0,8cm per second. But, do you know they can cover a kilometre in almost a week, provided that they don’t stop. Snails are one-of-a-kind creatures found in various environments, including deserts, ditches, and frigid climates.

Snails and slugs belong to the same category as squids, oysters, and clams, soft-bodied animals. However, compared to slug, snails have shells. Here are some fun facts about these long-term winners!

There are over 60 000 snail species in the world

Snails evolved nearly 500 million years ago. A snail fossil, recovered from Myanmar in 2018, dates back to nearly 99 million years ago. This fossil maintained the snail’s shell, head, eyes, and foot in amber.

Snails are born with shells Mollusks snails have hard shells of different shapes, colors, and sizes. Measuring anywhere from 0,68mm to 70cm, they weigh 25-45g. Snails in the wild live for three to seven years, while those kept in captivity can survive for nearly 25 years.

Snails are of different sizes, colours and shapes

Snails come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They are normally beige to grey in hue, with shells that range from white to black or brown with spots or stripes. Angustopila Dominika is the tiniest snail species on the planet that can slide through a needle’s eye.

It was first observed from the soil samples in China in 2015. So the great Australian whelk is the first on the list for the world’s largest snail. Snails lack a spinal column

Snails have a soft, segment-free body that is lengthy, slimy, and moist. A snail’s body consists of one head with a pair of tentacles, a neck, a visceral hump, one foot, and a tail. The tentacles are located at the top of the snail’s head. In contrast, a smaller set is located in the lower portion of the head, which the organism utilises to feel and smell.

Snails are of two kinds

They live on land as well as in the water. While land snails are one of the most well-known species on the planet, they have only one lung. The marine and freshwater snails breathe through their gills.

Land snails can be found almost anywhere, primarily in the top leaf litter of forests, marshes, and old fields and in certain invasive environments such as riversides, active fields and gardens, suburbs, and even cities.

Snails can be either carnivorous or omnivorous Land snails eat a variety of dead green herbs, plants, bark, algae, rotting wood, empty snail shells, fungi, animal scats, cement, limestone rocks, and various other things. For example, an algae plant is a popular food for herbivorous sea snails, while omnivorous sea snails eat small creatures.

Life span and reproductory cycle Most land snails can live for two-three years, while the wild ones last up to 10 years in captivity. Snails have a flexible sexual development period ranging from six weeks to five years, depending on the species. Generally, the snails do not like to self-fertilise. Therefore, they mate as snails have both reproductive organs (male and female). Snails can lay up to 100 eggs in a clutch, but only 20 to 50 of them will hatch.

Snails don’t feel pain

Snail shells are unique and beneficial. A snail’s shell serves as both housing and a protective shell for the creature’s organs in its mantle. A snail’s shell can mend from minor cracks or damage, but not from a shell that had been entirely obliterated.

Snails do not have jaw

The snail’s mouth is extremely small compared to the size of a pin. Regardless of this fact, they have 20 000 teeth in their mouths. Snails eat via their radula, a long sac lined with many small teeth. They scrape and digest with this organ. Instead of teeth, a sea snail’s mouth features a hard ribbon that helps it grind and rip its food. It moves by ripping the skin with its foot, leaving a mucus trail in its mouth.

Snails hibernate in winter

Snails are mostly nocturnal creatures, but you can see a few very early in the morning as well. They prefer dark and damp environments. When it’s hot, they tend to live in underground burrows. These tiny creatures are more difficult to handle than they appear! When the weather becomes extremely dry, they sleep to secrete enough mucus to keep them alive. Their naps can last anything between a few hours to three years.