Gastropod mollusks having an outer shell, or more simply, snails, are the slowest animals on the planet.
These gastropods are divided into two large classes - land and marine. Consider some representatives of both classes and find out which snail is the largest in the world.
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Rumina decollata
Let's start with a small but the most original snail. They grow up to 5 centimeters, and wear a shell in the form of a sharp truncated cone.
The world learned about a new gastropod mollusk in 1758, and from North America was brought to Europe, where it quickly bred in the Mediterranean region.
It feeds on plants, and leads a nocturnal lifestyle, creeping out to the surface of the earth during the day only in rainy weather. In winter, falls into suspended animation.
Unusual forms and originality of the snail can be appreciated in the photo. By the way, photographs of the most beautiful snails you can see on the site most-beauty.ru by clicking on the link.
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Grape snail
A grape snail, or, as it is called in Latin, Helix pomatia, is the largest land gastropod mollusk living in Europe.
This species is found in Russia. From ancient times, people of any state and social status ate these snails. The grape snail has a shell, the diameter of which reaches 3-5 centimeters.
The grape snail eats only plants, and in cold weather it falls into suspended animation, lasting up to 3 months.
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Caracolus Sagemon
Relatively small snails that grow up to 9 centimeters. Despite the fact that they are arboreal land inhabitants, they are very fond of swimming.
The dark shell with spiral stripes resembles a saucer, so they are often called "saucer".
At home, you can easily determine the state of Karakolus Sagemon, if the mollusk sleeps without climbing into the sink, then it is happy with everything.
The beauty and unusual coloring of the gastropod mollusk can be seen in the photo.
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Limicaria fire / Limicolaria flammea
One of the most popular shellfish among aquarists around the world. The fact is that the view is unpretentious, and also very beautiful.
Adults grow up to 7 centimeters, and the color of the shells ranges from light pink to brown. Among the species, albinos are often found.
These animals are almost omnivorous, therefore there are no nutritional problems, but the temperature in the aquariums where they are kept must be kept within 25–27 ° C. So, boldly start these animals if you are sure that you can maintain comfortable conditions for them. Although, according to the editors of TheBiggest.ru, with modern “smart” devices, this is not a problem.
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Scutalus
A species of ground-based respiratory snails, the habitat of which are some regions of Latin America.
They have a very unusual shell shape, and Scutalus grow up to 15 centimeters. A new species of mollusks was discovered in the middle of the XIX century.
Indians urine revered them. Like sacred animals, and often decorated dishes with their figures. But empty shells were used to make beads and other magnificent and unusual jewelry.
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Gigantic Achatina
The largest land snail in the world is the African land mollusk Giant Achatina. Recently, measures have been taken to prevent the spread of these giants in unusual ecological zones.
They grow, as can be seen in the photo, just to a huge size. Some individuals reach a length of 39 centimeters with the shell.
They are mainly nocturnal, but with high humidity they can crawl out of shelters during the day. Plants are preferred for food.
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Florida horse snail
This huge snail lives in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the Florida Peninsula and in the rest of the Gulf of Mexico all the way to Mexico.
The animal got its name due to its impressive size. The length of the shell of these snails is 60 cm, which makes them one of the largest in the world.
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Giant australian trumpeter
In the photo: A giant Australian trumpeter shell
Now is the time to introduce the largest mollusk that lives in the vastness of the ocean. This is a giant Australian trumpeter. As soon as it was discovered with a size of 1 meter 10 centimeters, he immediately got on the pages of the Guinness Book of Records.
The five-turn shell has a light orange color, but darkens over time.
The largest snail loves warm waters warmed up by the sun, therefore it lives on a sandy bottom no deeper than 30 meters. Despite its peaceful appearance, the trumpeter is an active predator, eating worms.
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Conclusion
So they learned about the largest snails, and the largest mollusk lives in the waters off the coast of Australia.
In various nations, in ancient times, snails became part of mythology and worldview. For example, in Babylon and Egypt they symbolized eternity, due to the spiral shell. But in Europe, the Inquisition declared them a symbol of sin and human laziness.
TheBiggest.ru editors are asking you to write your opinion about snails. If you have interesting cases related to these mollusks, share them in the comments.