Roman Snail

Appearance

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.

Distribution

Distribution of ''H. pomatia'' includes:

Southeastern and Central Europe:
⤷  Germany – listed as a specially protected species in annex 1 of the Bundesartenschutzverordnung.
⤷  Austria
⤷  Czech Republic – least concern species : Its conservation status in 2004–2006 is favourable in the report for the European Commission in accordance with the Habitats Directive.
⤷  Poland
⤷  Slovakia
⤷  Hungary
⤷  Romania
⤷  In southwestern Bulgaria up to an altitude more than 1600 m.
⤷  Northern and central Balkans
⤷  Slovenia
⤷  Croatia
⤷  Bosnia and Herzegovina
⤷  Serbia
⤷  North Macedonia

Western Europe:
⤷  Great Britain: in the west and south of England in southern areas on chalk soils. Its common name in the UK is "Roman snail" because it was introduced to the island by the Romans during the Roman period . In England only , the Roman snail is a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, making it illegal to kill, injure, collect or sell these snails.
⤷  Central France
⤷  Belgium
⤷  Netherlands
⤷  Switzerland

Northern Europe:
⤷  Denmark – Listed as a protected species.
⤷  Southern Sweden
⤷  Norway
⤷  Finland
⤷  In central and southern parts of Sweden, Norway and Finland, isolated and relatively small populations occur. It is not native to these countries, but is likely to have been imported by monks from Southern Europe during medieval times.
⤷  Latvia
⤷  Lithuania
⤷  Estonia

Eastern Europe:
⤷  Belarus
⤷  Ukraine
⤷  Moldavia
⤷  Russia: introduced to Moscow, Kursk

Southern Europe:
⤷  Italy
⤷  Portugal
⤷  Greece

Status

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.

Habitat

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.

Evolution

Roman snails were eaten by both Ancient Greeks and Romans.

Nowadays, these snails are especially popular in French cuisine. In the English language, it is called by the French name ''escargot'' when used in cooking .

Although this species is highly prized as a food, it is difficult to cultivate and rarely farmed commercially.

Uses

The intestinal juice of ''H. pomatia'' contains large amounts of aryl, steroid, and glucosinolate sulfatase activities. These sulfatases have a broad specificity, so are commonly used as a hydrolyzing agent in analytical procedures such as chromatography to prepare the sample for analysis.