Low and Slow - IMG_2097 - Edited
This is a Garden Snail (Cornu aspersum), a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc species that is native to western Europe, and has been introduced to habitats around the world.
They're capable of moving at a speed of around 1 metre per hour, and eat a variety of vegetation, earning them something of a bad reputation with gardeners and farmers - however, as they prefer to eat decaying plants, they are a vital part of many ecosystems worldwide.
Fun fact! Snail shells can coil in either direction, but by far and away the most common has the coil going rightwards (clockwise / dextral). Snails that are left-coiled (anti-clockwise / sinistral) cannot mate with snails that are right-coiled. Unfortunately for the lefties, they are extremely rare, with their sinistral form being as a result of a genetic mutation.
Snails are hermaphrodites, and if they are unable to find a sexual partner, are capable of asexual reproduction (self-fertilization). The Garden Snail lays around 80 eggs around two weeks after fertilization occurs, and usually lays around 6 clutches of eggs per year.
Low and Slow - IMG_2097 - Edited
This is a Garden Snail (Cornu aspersum), a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc species that is native to western Europe, and has been introduced to habitats around the world.
They're capable of moving at a speed of around 1 metre per hour, and eat a variety of vegetation, earning them something of a bad reputation with gardeners and farmers - however, as they prefer to eat decaying plants, they are a vital part of many ecosystems worldwide.
Fun fact! Snail shells can coil in either direction, but by far and away the most common has the coil going rightwards (clockwise / dextral). Snails that are left-coiled (anti-clockwise / sinistral) cannot mate with snails that are right-coiled. Unfortunately for the lefties, they are extremely rare, with their sinistral form being as a result of a genetic mutation.
Snails are hermaphrodites, and if they are unable to find a sexual partner, are capable of asexual reproduction (self-fertilization). The Garden Snail lays around 80 eggs around two weeks after fertilization occurs, and usually lays around 6 clutches of eggs per year.