Garden Snail (Cornu aspersum )

18/2/19

16 April 2022 

30 January 2021

18 February 2019

The garden snail (Helix aspersa) is a terrestrial gastropod mollusk and one of the best-known species in the world. It is so common that it is one of the most proliferated terrestrial mollusks.

The helix aspersa is also known as “European Brown Garden Snail,” but its scientific is under discussion. Some scientists think this snail is “Cornu aspersum,” “Cantareus aspersus” or “Cryptomphalus aspersus.”

This species is native to Europe but now lives in several parts of the world where it has become a pest of crops and gardens.

Class: Gastropoda
Superfamily: Helicoidea
Family: Helicidae

Description

Cornu aspersum is a moderately sized snail with a heliciform shell ranging in height from 20-35 mm and width from 25-40 mm (rarely 45 mm). The shell is yellow-brown and may possess darker brown spiral stripes interrupted by lighter, irregular markings and streaks, creating a banded appearance. There are irregular dimples on the shell. There are 4 1/2 to 5 whorls. The aperture (mouth) is large and rounded and has a lip that is white, faintly thickened and slightly recurved. In adults of this species, the umbilicus is normally absent or closed, though it may open to form a narrow slit in rare cases. The body of the animal is grey to pale brown-ochre and the tubercles are yellow. The mantle is somewhat black and speckled with grey-yellow.

Note: The surface sculpturing of the shell can be used to distinguish between Helix spp. and Cornu aspersum. The shell of Cornu aspersum is characteristically wrinkled, while the shell surface of Helix species lack wrinkles. (Terrestrial Mollusc Tool)

 

30 Jan 2021

8 April 2022 juvenile

16 April 2022