The eyes of a snail

A snail has 4 noses and 1 pair or 2 pairs of tentacles on its head. The longer pair houses the eyes on the tip (or at the base of the tentacle for sea snails). The other, shorter pair is used for smelling and feeling its way around.

Some land species of snail, like the grapevine snail in the picture, have only 1 pair of tentacles, meaning they have only 1 eye.

Grapevine snail

A snail has something called a radula in its mouth. It is like a file with rows made up of about 25,000 tiny teeth.

Snails produce a colorless, sticky discharge that forms a protective carpet under them as they travel along. This slimy discharge is so effective that they can crawl along the edge of a razor without cutting themselves.

A snail can sleep for 3 years without eating and live up to 10 years. Except for the one billion snails that annually find their way onto restaurant tables.