1. Snails Snails belong to the group of animals called molluscs. There are many species, or kinds, of snail. Land snails can be found in almost every kind of habitat, including deserts, mountains, wetlands, forests and gardens. The biggest land snail is the Giant African snail, which can grow up to 30 cm in length. The biggest freshwater snail is the Giant Apple snail, which can grow to 15cm in length and 600g in weight. The biggest of all snails is an Australian sea snail that can grow to a length of over 77 cm and a weight of 18 kg. Most kinds of snail are sea animals, many are land animals, some are freshwater animals. Most are herbivores but some are omnivores (eat meat and plants).

2. Snail Facts When snails grow their shells grow too. Snails hibernate in winter They can mate when they are about one year old There are more than 7000 species of snails and slugs. Snails eat plants with their tongues. There are thousands of tiny teeth on a snail's tongue, or radula. A snail also grinds up small pieces of rock with its radula to get minerals it need for a strong healthy shell. Snails can live for one or two years 3. Life cycle Snails are hermaphrodites. This means that each snail has a female part which lays eggs and a male part which makes sperm. When two snails mate, each snail presses the front part of its foot against the foot of the other snail. The snails shoot a hard dart into each other, which makes sperm pass between them. However, a single snail can do all this by itself! The sperm will make the eggs each snail lays, grow into baby snails. About two weeks after mating, the snail scrapes a hole in the soil and lays its eggs there. A snail lays between 20 and 50 eggs at a time. The eggs are covered up and they hatch after about four weeks. 4. Snails Body Inside a snail's body there is a muscle called a foot, and this propels the snail. The snail's body is kept moist by mucus, and that helps the snail to glide along as the foot ripples. The mucus that the snail produces helps its movement and reduces the risk of injury from sharp objects. When snails pull their bodies into their shells, they can close a door-like part of the shell called an operculum. 5. Pictures of snails