Gastropods · Stylommatophora · Helicidae

Roman Snail

Helix pomatia

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

One of the largest land snails in Europe, with a globose shell of reddish or greyish brown crossed by three to five more intense transverse bands and with a whitish lip. It has four tentacles: the upper two carry the eyes and the lower two serve for touch.

Weight

25 g – 45 g

Size

10 cm on average

Diet

Herbivore

Feeds mainly on plants.

Activity

Nocturnal

Active mainly at night.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

Herbivore Nocturnal Solitary Mollusc

45countries1same family

Fun facts

Its radula, the rasping tongue it eats with, has between 20,000 and 40,000 teeth.
It hibernates buried under moss 15-30 cm down and seals its shell with a porous epiphragm that lets it go on breathing all winter.
In France it is protected: collecting it is banned during the breeding season, from 1 April to 30 June, and outside that period only individuals over 3 cm may be taken.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Invertebrate - gastropod mollusc
Habitat & environment: Limestone ground: fields, woodland, allotments, gardens and above all vineyards, which is where its other name comes from. It prefers places near rivers and reaches around 1,500 m in altitude
Litter / clutch size: Clutches of about 80 eggs. It is hermaphrodite but cannot self-fertilise: it needs to mate with another individual

Sources consulted: IUCN Red List (Neubert 2013, e.T156519A4957463); Directiva Hábitats, Anexo V; Wikipedia (Helix pomatia); Aquaportail; curso de helicicultura (fichas técnicas)