The Common Garden SnailKinkele in 1⁰ made this

This is what a snail looks likehttp://spaz.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/snail1.JPG

http://boston.shambhalatimes.org/files/2010/10/our-planet-earth.jpg

The Common Garden snail, orHelix aspersa can be found In most places* of the worldMost places:-Mediterranean Basin-western Europe-northwest Africa-Asia Minor-British Isles-Bohemia in the Czech Republic-southern Africa- Australia,-New Zealand,-North America-southern South America.(they don’t call it “common” for nothing)

Appearance and anatomy

http://www.snail-world.com/images/Snail_diagram_CC_AI2.jpg

Helix aspersa has a hard shell of roughly semispherical shape that contains most of the organs. Although Helix aspersa is able to retract completely into its shell, during times of activity the head and foot (a large muscle used for locomotion) extend from opposite ends. The foot can be told apart from the head easily by noting its lack of eyes or tentacles.

Also if any of this was a shock to you, please go outside. You’ll like it, I promise.

http://cdn.webecoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Archachatina-marginata-african-land-snail.jpg

Relatives of Helix aspersa

Other snail species of interest include Achatina achatina, or the Giant African Land Snail, which can grow to be a foot long, or Rumina decollata, which is known for its cannibalistic tendencies.

Reproduction

Awe…

Snails are Hermaphrodites, having both male and female organs. Although they can self-fertilize, to increase genetic diversity they most often reproduce sexually. This consists of one snail stabbing the other with a knifelike appendage known as a “love dart,” how romantic!

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You can eat them!

Snails are often served cooked with garlic and other spices in a popular French dish called Escargot. The texture has been described as “Slightly chewy.”

The process of raising snails for food is called “Heliciculture”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Escargotbordeaux.jpg

Hibernation

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Contrary to popular belief, snails live to around three years. During times of extended dryness or cold winters, snails retract into their shells and paste a layer of mucus across the entrance called a calcareous epiphragm. They can also control the chemical content of their blood to prevent it from freezing.