, common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
s the Burgundy snail
, Roman snail
, edible snail
or escargot, is a species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of large, edible, air-breathing land snail
A land snail is any of the many species of snail that live on land, as opposed to those that live in salt water and fresh water. Land snails are terrestrial gastropod mollusks that have shells, It is not always an easy matter to say which species are terrestrial, because some are more or less...
, a terrestrial
Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...
pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Helicidae
The Helicidae, sometimes known as the typical snails, are a taxonomic family of small to large, air-breathing, land snails. In other words, they are terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks....
. It is a European
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
This species is frequently farmed
Heliciculture, or snail farming is the process of farming or raising land snails specifically for human consumption, and more recently, to obtain snail slime for cosmetics use....
, and is called by the French name escargot when it is used in cooking.
Distribution of Helix pomatia
south-eastern and central Europe:
- Germany - Listed as a specially protected species in annex 1 of the Bundesartenschutzverordnung.
- Czech Republic - least concern species (LC). Its conservation status in 2004-2006 is favourable (FV) in the report for the European commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
in accordance with the Habitats Directive.
- In south-western Bulgaria up to an altitude of more than 1600 m.
- north and central Balkans
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
- Republic Of Macedonia
- Great Britain: in the west and south of England in southern areas on chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
soils. Its common name in the UK is "Roman snail" because it was introduced to the island by the Romans during the Roman period
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
(AD 43-410). In England only (not the rest of the UK) the Roman snail is a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom and was implemented to comply with the Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds...
, making it illegal to kill, injure, collect or sell these snails.
- central France
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
- Listed as a protected species.
- south Sweden
- In central and southern parts of Sweden, Norway and Finland, there are isolated and relatively small populations. It is not native to these countries, but is likely to have been imported by monks from Southern Europe during medieval times.
- western Belarus
- western Ukraine (Uzhgorod)
- Russia: introduced to Moscow, Kursk
Kursk is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym Rivers. The area around Kursk was site of a turning point in the Russian-German struggle during World War II and the site of the largest tank battle in history...
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
: introduced to Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
The gastropod shell is a shell which is part of the body of a gastropod or snail, one kind of mollusc. The gastropod shell is an external skeleton or exoskeleton, which serves not only for muscle attachment, but also for protection from predators and from mechanical damage...
is creamy white to light brownish, often with indistinct brown colour bands. The shell has 5-6 whorls
A whorl is a single, complete 360° revolution or turn in the spiral growth of a mollusc shell. A spiral configuration of the shell is found in of numerous gastropods, but it is also found in shelled cephalopods including Nautilus, Spirula and the large extinct subclass of cephalopods known as the...
. The aperture
The aperture is an opening in certain kinds of mollusc shells: it is the main opening of the shell, where part of the body of the animal emerges for locomotion, feeding, etc....
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 south-eastern Europe Helix pomatia
lives in forests and open habitats, gardens, vineyards, especially along rivers, confined to calcareous substrate. In central Europe in open forests and shrubland on calcareous substrate. It prefers high humidity and lower temperatures, needs loose soil to burrow in order to hibernate and lay its eggs. It lives up to 2100 m in the Alps, usually below 2000 m. In south England it is restricted to undisturbed grassy or bushy wastelands, usually not in gardens, with a low reproduction rate and low powers of dispersal.
Average distance of migration reaches 3.5–6 m.
This snail is hermaphroditic
In biology, a hermaphrodite is an organism that has reproductive organs normally associated with both male and female sexes.Many taxonomic groups of animals do not have separate sexes. In these groups, hermaphroditism is a normal condition, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which both...
. Reproduction in central Europe occurs from end of May onwards.
Eggs are laid in June and July, in clutches of 40-65 eggs. The size of the egg is 5.5-6.5 mm or 8.6 × 7.2 mm. Juveniles hatch after 3–4 weeks, and may consume their siblings under unfavourable climate conditions. Maturity is reached after 2–5 years. The life span is up to 20 years. 10 year-old individuals are probably not uncommon in natural populations. The maximum lifespan is 35 years.
Aestivation is a state of animal dormancy, characterized by inactivity and a lowered metabolic rate, that is entered in response to high temperatures and arid conditions...
Hibernation is a state of inactivity and metabolic depression in animals, characterized by lower body temperature, slower breathing, and lower metabolic rate. Hibernating animals conserve food, especially during winter when food supplies are limited, tapping energy reserves, body fat, at a slow rate...
, this species creates a calcareous
Calcareous is an adjective meaning mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate, in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines.-In zoology:...
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....
in order to seal the opening of the shell.
This species is listed in IUCN red list
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
as Least Concern. It is found at http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/156519/0.
is threatened by continuous habitat destructions and drainage, usually less threatened by commercial collections. There were many unsuccessful attempts 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 in many regions there are restrictions on commercial collecting.
In popular culture
In the 2005 film What Is It?
What Is It? is the name of a 2005 dramatic film written, starring, funded and directed by Crispin Hellion Glover. It is described by IMDb as "The adventures of a young man whose principal interests are snails, salt, a pipe, and how to get home...
several of these snails appear: some die by crushing, others by salting.
Roumyantseva E. G. & Dedkov V. P. (2006). "Reproductive properties of the Roman snail Helix pomatia
L. in the Kaliningrad Region, Russia". Ruthenica 15
: 131-138. abstract