Helix is a genus of large, air-breathing land snails native to the western Palaearctic and characterized by a globular shell. It is the type genus of the family Helicidae, and one of the animal genera described by Carl Linnaeus. Members of the genus first appeared during the Miocene. Well-known species include Helix pomatia and Helix lucorum. Cornu aspersum, though externally similar and long classified as a member of Helix, is not closely related to Helix and belongs to a different tribe of Helicinae.
The common periwinkle or winkle is a species of small edible whelk or sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc that has gills and an operculum, and is classified within the family Littorinidae, the periwinkles.
Helix pomatia, common names the Roman snail, Burgundy snail, or escargot, is a species of large, air-breathing stylommatophoran land snail native to Europe. It is characterized by a globular brown shell. It is an edible species. Helix pomatia commonly occurs synanthropically throughout its range.
Heliciculture, commonly known as snail farming, is the process of raising edible land snails, primarily for human consumption or cosmetic use. The meat and snail eggs a.k.a. white caviar can be consumed as escargot and as a type of caviar, respectively.
The operculum is a corneous or calcareous anatomical structure like a trapdoor that exists in many groups of sea snails and freshwater snails, and also in a few groups of land snails; the structure is found in some marine and freshwater gastropods, and in a minority of terrestrial gastropods, including the families Helicinidae, Cyclophoridae, Aciculidae, Maizaniidae, Pomatiidae, etc.
An epiphragm is a temporary structure which can be created by many species of shelled, air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks. It can also be created by freshwater snails when temporary pools dry up.
The Trochidae, common name top-snails or top-shells, are a family of various sized sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the subclass Vetigastropoda. This family is commonly known as the top-snails because in many species the shell resembles a toy spinning top.
The gastropod shell is part of the body of a gastropod or snail, a kind of mollusc. The shell is an exoskeleton, which protects from predators, mechanical damage, and dehydration, but also serves for muscle attachment and calcium storage. Some gastropods appear shell-less (slugs) but may have a remnant within the mantle, or in some cases the shell is reduced such that the body cannot be retracted within it (semi-slug). Some snails also possess an operculum that seals the opening of the shell, known as the aperture, which provides further protection. The study of mollusc shells is known as conchology. The biological study of gastropods, and other molluscs in general, is malacology. Shell morphology terms vary by species group.
Theodoxus fluviatilis, common name the river nerite, is a species of small freshwater and brackish water snail with a gill and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae, the nerites.
A land snail is any of the numerous species of snail that live on land, as opposed to the sea snails and freshwater snails. Land snail is the common name for terrestrial gastropod mollusks that have shells. However, it is not always easy to say which species are terrestrial, because some are more or less amphibious between land and fresh water, and others are relatively amphibious between land and salt water.
Valvata cristata is a species of minute freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Valvatidae, the valve snails.
Valvata piscinalis, common name the European stream valvata or European valve snail, is a species of minute freshwater snail with gills and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Valvatidae, the valve snails. It is also known as Cincinna piscinalis.
Cochlicella acuta, common name the pointed snail, is a species of small but very high-spired, air-breathing land snail, a pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Geomitridae.
Cecilioides acicula, common name the "blind snail" or "blind awlsnail", is a species of very small, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Ferussaciidae.
The family Pomatiidae is a taxonomic family of small operculate land snails, terrestrial gastropod mollusks that can be found over the warmer parts of the Old World. In the older literature, this family is designated as Pomatiasidae.
Littorinoidea are a superfamily of both sea snails and land snails which have a gill and an operculum, terrestrial and marine gastropod mollusks in the clade Littorinimorpha.
Xerocrassa geyeri is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Geomitridae. It is also often known as Trochoidea geyeri.
Nucella lamellosa, commonly known as the frilled dogwinkle or wrinkled purple whelk, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails. This species occurs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, its range extending in the intertidal zone from the Aleutian Islands southward to central California.
