Roman Snail
Roman Snail
Helix pomatia
Mollusca
COMMON

Stats

Lifespan
10-30 yrs
Size
Large
Diet
Herbivore
Activity
Nocturnal
Social
Solitary
Biome
Temperate forest
Range
Europe
Movement
Slithering
Breeding
Egg-laying
Defense
Armor
Status
Common

About

The Roman snail is a large European land snail with a creamy-white to light brown spiral shell up to 5 cm across, famous as the "escargot" of French cuisine. During winter it seals itself inside its shell with a calcified mucus plug called an epiphragm and hibernates for months.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    juvenile
    A juvenile mollusk takes adult form after its larval phase and begins building or growing its shell.
  2. 2.
    adult
    Fully grown at adult shell size or body length.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Mollusca
Class
Gastropoda
Order
Stylommatophora
Family
Helicidae
Genus
Helix
Species
Helix pomatia