Snails are most well-known for their speed or lack thereof. They aren’t the fastest animals on Earth, but we get that. Have a look at these amazing Facts About Snails below!
There are many other amazing things about snails. One snail species can grow up to one foot and a quarter in length! These slow-moving creatures are also fascinating in 16 more ways.
Facts About Snails
1. They’re not different from SLUGS.
Only one thing distinguishes snails from slugs: they have a shell.
2. THOUGH SOME SLUGS ONLY APPEAR TO BE SHELL-LESS
Slug families like Limacidae or Milacidae hide internal shell plates within their bodies. The creatures can have smaller shells which allow them to move more easily and is an evolutionary advantage in chasing prey.
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3. THEY ARE RELATED TO SHELLFISH.
Mollusks include snails and slugs. They are in the same group as oysters, mussels, and clams. In the taxonomic classification for snails or slugs, Gastropods are the largest grouping of mollusks. They account for more than 80 percent of all living mollusk species. They are also one of the most varied animals in terms of form, habitat, and behavior.
4. They live everywhere on Earth.
There are as many as 150,000 types of gastropods. They live in nearly all habitats, including deep ocean trenches and deserts.
5. They might be the inspiration for Cupid.
One researcher suggests the myth of Cupid’s arrow may be derived from the Helix Aspersa mating rituals, a common garden snail. These snails may shoot “love darts” at their object of affection, which contains mucus that increases their chances of sperm survival (snails, being hermaphrodites, and both receive sperm during mating). In earlier times, people believed these snot missiles were gifts of calcium or an aphrodisiac. Ron Chase from McGill University argues this could be the reason for Cupid’s desire-inducing quiver.
6. THEY’VE INSPIRED MEDICAL ADHESIVES.
Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital, MIT, and MIT have created an adhesive that mimics the stickiness found in slug’s slime. This gel is the same one that marine snails use to cling onto rocks in the surf. Medical glue can be used to repair heart defects. It will stick to any surface, even with jagged edges where traditional sutures may leak. It has been tested only on pig hearts.
7. THEIR MUCUS MAY IMPROVE YOUR SKIN.
A few studies found that snail mucus may help wounds heal. This could trigger an immune response that aids skin cells in regenerating.
8. SOME AQUATIC SNAILS HAD LUNGS.
Some freshwater snails don’t breathe underwater through their gills but instead rely on a type o lung that floats to the surface whenever they need to breathe. Some snails have both lungs and gills. The siphon is a tube that allows the apple snail to breathe through the water.
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9. A SNAIL COULD TAKE DOWN A STARFISH.
Charonia tritonis is a giant triton that can grow to about a foot and a half in length. It is also a predator that can be aggressive and has a keen sense of smell. It loves starfish and paralyzes them with its venomous saliva.
10. SNAILS WERE A SYMBOL OF JOY FOR PRE-COLUMBIAN AMERICANS.
For Mesoamericans, the sea snail was a symbol of joy and rebirth. Its shell, which had a whirled shape, represented the circle of life.
11. THEY CAN BE MADE INTO MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.
Conches are large sea snails. Shell trumpets have been used as musical instruments for millennia. The mythology from ancient Greece, India, Hawaii, and Hawaii includes shell trumpets. For example, in ancient Greek mythology, Triton, the sea god, calmed the waves using a conch shell trumpet.
12. THEY LIKE TO DINE TOGETHER.
Some garden snails will eat from the same food source as another snail, even if there is food nearby. Does anyone want to cook a family dinner?
13. The PSEUDONYM “SNAIL” WAS THE FIRST WOMAN TO PARTICIPATE IN INTERNATIONAL CAR RACING.
Helene van Zuylen, a 19th-century French socialite and writer, completed the 1898 Paris-Amsterdam-Paris trail, reportedly becoming the first woman to compete in an international car race. Her husband, president of the Automobile Club de France, raced under “Escargot.”
14. SOME HAIRY SHELLS.
Many species of terrestrial snails, particularly juveniles, have hairy shells. Scientists believe that this adaptation may be an adaptation that enhances locomotion within wet environments. Since hairy snails are more likely to originate from humid regions,
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15. NOVELIST PATRICIA HIGHSMITH TAKES THEM TO PARTIES.
Highsmith’s novels Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mrs. Ripley were adapted to now-famous films. Reportedly preferred mollusks over people. Highsmith kept 300 snails as pets, and these creatures appear in many of her literary works. Joan Schenkar, a biographer of the writer, quotes someone who describes Highsmith to be “the woman who raised snails out of her handbag and encouraged them to leave sticky trails all over her tabletop host.”
16. THE WORLD’S SMALLEST LAKE SNAIL COULD FIT THROUGH A NEEDLE’S EYE
With a shell measuring just 0.03 inches in height, the Angustopila dominantikae might be the smallest land snail ever discovered. You could line up 10 of them in a row, and they would all be able to pass through the eye of one needle. Microgastropods are snails shorter than 0.2 inches.
