71 Fun Snail Facts That Will Make You Love Snails

There are snail facts that are known to everyone, like that, snails are slow and have shells. However, there are many other interesting facts.

The list of facts below is organized to contain short information pieces. It is perfect for kids but will be very interesting for adults as well.

1. There are over 40,000 different species of snails.
2. In the animal kingdom, they belong to the Gastropoda class under phylum Mollusca.
3. They are in the same class as slugs.
4. The main difference between snails and slugs is that snails have shells and slugs do not. But there are other differences.
5. Scientists believe they exist for over 500 million years.
6. Snails can live on the land or underwater.
7. The underwater species is divided into freshwater and saltwater snails.

8. They exist and live in practically any place on the plant.
9. In North America alone, there are over 500 native species.
10. Many other species were transported from one place to another as pets or as stowaways.
11. They have many predators like: rats, turtles, lizards, beetles, birds, etc.
12. Their body can host many parasites that are very dangerous to animals and humans.
13. There are many snails that are considered in danger of extinction.
14. On the other hand, others are considered invasive species.
15. Snails make great pets.

16. Some snails can hibernate for months.
17. Farming of snails is called Heliciculture.
18. Fear of snails is called Molluscophobia.
19. Every year, UK hosts a snail racing championship.
20. A cone snail is poisonous and can even kill humans.
21. The shell of a snail can be used as a musical instrument.
22. If you say the word Escargot in France, it means a snail. If you say it in the US or UK, you mean a dish made from snails.
23. There are hundreds of different recipes to cook Escargot.
24. People also eat snail eggs similar to fish eggs. This is called snail caviar.
25. Snail meat is rich in protein.
26. Most snails live 2-5 years in the wild but can live 10-25 years in captivity.
27. They are one of the slowest animals on the plant.
28. The average speed of snails is around 0.5-0.8 inches per second.
29. The plough snail is one of the fastest snails with an average of 1 inch per second.
30. They are social animals. They tend to hang out and eat in groups.

31. They can lift up to 10 times their body weight.
32. The largest land snail in the world is the Giant African Snail. Its Guinness Record is 15.4 in (39.3 cm).
33. The largest snail in the world is the saltwater giant whelk. It can go up to 35.6 inches (91 cm).
34. The smallest species is Angustopila psammion. Measuring 0.02 inches (0.6 mm).
35. If a snail feels threatened, it will retract its body completely into its shell as a defense mechanism.
36. They can cover the entrance of their shell with dry mucus.
37. When they move, they leave a trail of mucus that is used as a lubricant.
38. That lubricant allows them to even go over a sharp knife without getting hurt.
39. Snails can go on other snails’ mucus to save efforts.
40. Many snails, like the Garden snail, prefer to be active during the night.
41. Salt is very harmful for them as it dries their body.
42. Snails are born with shells.
43. Their shell grows with them as they grow.
44. You can tell the age of a snail by the number or whorls its shell has.
45. If their shell is broken, it cannot be fixed.
46. Their shell is made mostly from Calcium carbonate.
47. The shell is connected to the body using a muscle called mantle

48. Land snails have lungs.
49. Terrestrial snails have two pairs of tentacles.
50. The upper pair carry their eyes.
51. Snails cannot hear.
52. Water snails have gills.
53. Marine snails have just one pair of tentacles.
54. A snail uses one muscular foot to move.
55. Snails poop but it doesn’t have a strong smell.
56. Some snails can eat other snails.
57. When a baby snail hatches from its egg, it will eat its own eggshell.
58. Sometimes, they even eat the eggs around them.
59. They have a mouth with thousands of little teeth. More than any other animal.
60. They use it to scrap their food.
61. They can drink water but don’t have to.
62. They can eat many things.
63. The Giant African Land Snail is very harmful for crops because it eats more than 500 different types of plants.
64. They need food that is rich in protein for their shell to grow.
65. The courtship process can take between 2 and 10 hours.
66. Most snail species are hermaphrodites. This means they have both female and male reproductive organs.
67. A single, ordinary garden snail can have more than 400 babies in one year.
68. They might refuse to mate with another snail only because it is from another area.
69. Before the mating begins, they shoot each other with a “love dart”. Same as cupid.
70. The mucus that the snail generates can be used for skin treatment.
71. It is usually sold as a snail cream but there are treatments that include placing live snails on your face.