Mollusks • Earth.com

Burgundy snail

(Helix pomatia)

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Description

Helix pomatia, common names the Roman snail, Burgundy snail, edible snail, or escargot, is a species of large, edible, air-breathing land snail, a pulmonate gastropod terrestrial mollusc in the family Helicidae. It is one of Europe's biggest species of land snail. The shell is creamy white to light brownish, often with indistinct brown colour bands. The shell has five to six whorls. The aperture is large. The apertural margin is white and slightly reflected in adult snails. The umbilicus is narrow and partly covered by the reflected columellar margin. The width of the shell is 30–50 mm. The height of the shell is 30–45 mm. In southeastern Europe, H. pomatia lives in forests, open habitats, gardens, and vineyards, especially along rivers, confined to calcareous substrate. In Central Europe, it occurs in open forests and shrubland on calcareous substrate. It prefers high humidity and lower temperatures, and needs loose soil for burrowing to hibernate and lay its eggs. It lives up to 2100 m above sea level in the Alps, but usually below 2000 m. In the south of England, it is restricted to undisturbed grassy or bushy wastelands, usually not in gardens; it has a low reproduction rate and low powers of dispersal. This species is listed in IUCN Red List, and in European Red List of Non-marine Molluscs as of least concern. H. pomatia is threatened by continuous habitat destructions and drainage, usually less threatened by commercial collections. Many unsuccessful attempts have been made to establish the species in various parts of England, Scotland, and Ireland; it only survived in natural habitats in southern England, and is threatened by intensive farming and habitat destruction. It is of lower concern in Switzerland and Austria, but many regions restrict commercial collecting In Japan, the Mie Escargot Farm succeeded in the complete cultivation of Burgundy species (Pomatia).

Taxonomic tree:

Domain:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum:
Class: Gastropoda
Order:Stylommatophora
Family:Helicidae
Genus:Helix
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