This weeks French word is ‘Escargot’. It means Snail in French!
- Snail is a common name for gastropod molluscs that can be split into three groups, land snails, sea snails and freshwater snails.
- Snail-like animals that do not have a shell are usually called slugs.
- Snails can have lungs or gills depending on the species and their habitat. Some marine snails actually can have lungs and some land based snails can have gills.
- Most snail species have a ribbon-like tongue called a radula that contains thousands of microscopic teeth. The radula works like a file, ripping food up into tiny pieces.
- The majority of snails are herbivores eating vegetation such as leaves, stems and flowers, some larger species and marine based species can be predatory omnivores or even carnivores.
- The giant African land snail grows to about 38 cm (15 in) and weigh 1 kg (2lb).
- The largest living sea snail species is the Syrinx aruanus who’s shell can reach 90 cm (35 in) in length and the snail can weigh up to 18 kg (40lbs)!
Source: Fun snail facts for kids