Garden Snail
Garden Snail
Invertebrate
The garden snail glides along on a single muscular foot, carrying its spiral home on its back and rasping at leaves with thousands of microscopic teeth.
💡 Fun Facts
- Famously slow, travelling by gliding on a muscular foot over a trail of slime.
- They have thousands of microscopic teeth on a ribbon-like tongue.
- Can retreat into their shells to survive dry weather.
Name Story
Cornu aspersum
means “the sprinkled horn”
What does its name mean?
- Cornu — horn — the coiled, horn-like shellLatin
- aspersum — sprinkled, speckledLatin (aspergere, 'to sprinkle')
Look closely at a garden snail's shell and the name comes alive: a smooth, horn-shaped spiral that looks as though someone has gently sprinkled it with paler flecks and bands.