Bug Wiki
Bug Wiki / All bugs / Snails, slugs and worms
Sticker of Banded caracol
Bug card No. 0266 of 4,939

Banded caracol

Caracolus marginella
Eats: PlantsSnails, slugs and wormsRainforests and junglesNo legsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The banded caracol is a land snail with a big, round shell. It lives on the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico and has also made a home in Florida. Like all land snails, it breathes air and glides on one big foot.

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
Puerto Rico, and also Florida
Length
3.5 to 4.5 cm (1.4 to 1.8 in)
the width of the shell
Top speed
about 0.04 km/h (0.02 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Wash your hands after touching a snail, like after touching any wild animal.
What does it eat?
Like most land snails, it nibbles on plants with a rough tongue.
For real!Photo of Banded caracol
Picture by Gmelin, 1791. CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Banded caracol about 4.5 cm long (1.8 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 8 grains of rice in a rowcould run across a dinner table in 90 seconds

How big is Banded caracol 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 3.5 to 4.5 centimetres wide, about as wide as a ping-pong ball.

2

Its shell winds around 5 or 6 times, like a spiral staircase.

3

Its eyes sit on the tips of its two long feelers.

you asked

Most asked questions about Banded caracol

?How big is the banded caracol?

Its shell is 3.5 to 4.5 cm wide.

?Where does the banded caracol live?

In Puerto Rico, and also in Florida.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Caracolus marginella
Group
Snails, slugs and worms
Family
Pleurodontidae
Classification
Gastropoda > Stylommatophora > Pleurodontidae
Lives on
North America

Where the facts come from

  1. Caracolus marginella (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 Gmelin, 1791. CC0, 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: Rainforests and jungles

Banded owl-butterflyButterfliesGreen pergesa hawkmothMothsGreen-winged bamboo-carpenterBees and bumblebeesPink-spotted cattleheartButterfliesTrinidad dwarf tiger tarantulaSpidersBanded peacockButterflies
Honey jarfor grown-ups