• Question: Why are snails so slow?

    Asked by anon-357662 to Phil on 15 Mar 2023.
    • Photo: Phil Howell

      Phil Howell answered on 15 Mar 2023:

      I don’t think they are that slow – remember they’re much smaller than us and don’t have legs! It’s down to the way they move, the soft bit you can see that leaves a sticky slimy trail is a great big muscle, which slowly ripples to make the snail skate across the slime underneath. Try putting a snail onto a piece of clear plastic and waiting for it to sart moving. Then, turn the plastic upside down so you can see the snail from underneath and you can see exactly how it moves. Very cool, or very gross, depending on your point of view!

Comments

  • Photo: Patricia

    Patricia commented on :

    This is a DEEP question!

    All I know is that snails exist, which means they don’t NEED to be fast to survive. All species (including humans) aren’t here because we are great at everything, we are here because we are good enough to survive and make babies like us!

    Maybe long ago there was a snail that was hatched that was EVEN SLOWER than the snails we see today! This snail could barely move. It couldn’t eat, it couldn’t find a mate, so it died without making a baby snail.

    Or maybe there was a snail born that was FAST! But it was so fast that the birds could easily see it rustling the leaves on the ground–so it got eaten up! So it couldn’t make baby snails.

    So maybe the snails that go at the speed we see today are the best at surviving–not so slow they can’t eat and find a meal and a mate, but not so fast they get spotted by birds who’ll eat them!

    You are curious about the principle of “evolution”! One day you’ll study more about it. You might discover a better reason for why snails are slow. It’s VERY cool!