Giant African Land Snail

mollusks · agriculture · Africa · giants

Enormous size. Giant African land snails are much bigger than the snails you might see in a garden. Some species grow so large that they can be longer than your hand is wide.

From Africa originally. These snails come from Africa and belong to a family called Achatinidae. Different species have different looks, like the Ghana tiger snail with its striped shell.

Major pest problem. One species, Lissachatina fulica, has become a serious pest in countries outside Africa. It eats crops and causes big damage to farms wherever it spreads.

Big appetites. These snails are herbivores that eat plants, and they can munch through a lot of food because of their large size. This makes them especially harmful to agriculture when they're not in their native habitats.

Land lovers only. Unlike water snails, giant African land snails live entirely on land in forests, grasslands, and other habitats. They need moisture to survive but never go in the water.