Surprising facts about snails

Snails are so primitive, how can they be interesting? They just crawl and hide in their shell. Nothing special…

Far from that! Sometimes the most common creatures turn out to have unexpected and surprising features. Did you know those facts?

1. Snails are the most toothed animals on our planet! They have more than 20,000 sharp plates in their mouth.
2. Snails live everywhere from deep oceans to cold places and hot deserts.
3. There are more than 60000 species of snails.
4. The smallest snail ever found could fit through the eye of a needle. It’s identified as a _Angustopila dominikae _and its size with the shell is just 0.03 inches (0,76 mm).
5. The largest snail is the Giant Whelk. It’s a sea creature with a shell length of almost 35.4 inches (90 cm)
6. Most snails live for 2 or 3 years. Some large snail species can live up to 10 years. And the longest known lifespan of a snail is 25 years old!
7. Snails use the tentacles on their heads to communicate with others through touch.
8. Depending on the species, snails can be herbivorous, carnivorous, or omnivorous.
9. There are snails with hairy shells.
10. Snails are hermaphrodites. It means they have the reproductive organs of both a male and a female.

They are not so simple as they seem, aren’t they?

Let’s dive into the snail topic with the following activities.

Here is a video with more stunning facts about snails.

Let’s sing along the song about this small creature.

Let’s make an easy snail papercraft.

Here is a game board to play a snail race!