Garden Snail
The garden snail (Cornu aspersum) is a brown-shelled land snail native to the Mediterranean that now lives in gardens and farms on every continent but Antarctica. It is the 'escargot' of many menus and a common garden pest.
The garden snail (Cornu aspersum) is a brown-shelled land snail native to the Mediterranean that now lives in gardens and farms on every continent but Antarctica. It is the "escargot" of many menus and a common garden pest.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Garden Snail in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Lophotrochozoa lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
Sliding on Slime
A snail glides on a layer of mucus produced by a gland at the front of its foot, propelled by waves of muscle contraction. The mucus helps it stick to vertical surfaces, protects its skin from rough ground and seals the shell in dry spells.
Spread by People
Brought by settlers as food, garden snails have become pests in California, Australia and elsewhere, eating crops and ornamental plants. See Burgundy Snail.
Radula Teeth
The snail scrapes plant tissue with a rasp-like tongue (radula) bearing thousands of tiny teeth. It is a hermaphrodite with love darts like the Burgundy snail.
Garden Snail at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Cornu aspersum |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Mollusca |
| Class | Gastropoda |
| Order | Stylommatophora |
| Family | Helicidae |
| Field Guide group | Lophotrochozoa: Worms, Shells & Allies |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Brown-banded spiral shell, two pairs of retractable tentacles with eyes on the tips of the longer pair, and a muscular foot that glides on mucus. |
| IUCN Red List status | Least Concern (LC), assessed 2026 |
| Class | Gastropoda |
| Native range | Mediterranean |
See Also
- Burgundy Snail — an edible land snail
- Giant African Land Snail — a bigger invader