Bug Wiki
Bug Wiki / All bugs / Snails, slugs and worms
Sticker of Brown-mouthed helix
Bug card No. 0702 of 4,939

Brown-mouthed helix

Helix melanostoma
Name means: “named after the brown edge inside the opening of its shell”
Eats: PlantsSnails, slugs and wormsGardens and meadowsNo legsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The brown-mouthed helix is a big land snail with a pale shell, greyish or almost white. When you look into the opening of its shell, the inside edge is brown or even violet. It breathes air and lives on land, not in water.

Fun fact: this one is not an insect at all, it has no legs! But kids find it on every bug hunt, so it lives in Bug Wiki too.
Lives in
North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) and southern France
Length
2.8 to 3.8 cm (1.1 to 1.5 in)
the width of the shell
Top speed
about 0.03 km/h (0.02 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Wash your hands after holding one, like after touching any wild animal.
What does it eat?
Like other land snails of its family, it eats plants.
For real!Photo of Brown-mouthed helix
Picture by Gargominy O.. CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Brown-mouthed helix about 3.8 cm long (1.5 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)A banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)
as long as 6 grains of rice in a rowneeds 2 minutes to cross a dinner table

How big is Brown-mouthed helix compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Its shell is about as big as a ping pong ball.

2

The brown or violet edge inside the shell opening gives it its name.

3

It lives on both sides of the Mediterranean Sea, in Africa and in Europe.

you asked

Most asked questions about Brown-mouthed helix

?Where does the brown-mouthed helix live?

In Algeria, Tunisia and southern France.

?How big is the brown-mouthed helix?

Its shell is about 3 to 4 centimetres across.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Helix melanostoma
Group
Snails, slugs and worms
Family
Helicidae
Classification
Gastropoda > Stylommatophora > Helicidae
Lives on
Africa, Europe

Where the facts come from

  1. Helix melanostoma (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Gargominy O.. CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip

More from the same group: Snails, slugs and worms

Garden snailSnails, slugs and wormsGiant African land snailSnails, slugs and wormsLeopard slugSnails, slugs and wormsBladder snailSnails, slugs and wormsMedicinal leechSnails, slugs and wormsCommon earthwormSnails, slugs and worms

Also at home here: Gardens and meadows

Marsh fritillaryButterfliesMexican bean beetleLadybirdsDuke of BurgundyButterfliesWhite butterfly parasite waspWasps and hornetsNeon cuckoo beeBees and bumblebeesTawny mining beeBees and bumblebees
Honey jarfor grown-ups