Giant snails mating. These are terrestrial snails from Africa (family: Achatinidae). Some members of this family of snails can reach sizes of up to 30
Giant snails mating. These are terrestrial snails from Africa (family: Achatinidae). Some members of this family of snails can reach sizes of up to 30 centimetres long. Snails are invertebrate molluscs that have a shell for protection. Snails secrete mucus and contract and stretch their bodies to drag themselves along the ground. Snails breed rapidly, most being hermaphrodite (both male and female). Pairs of snails exchange spermatozoa by internally fertilising each other. They will then each produce fertilised eggs, sometimes as many as 400, and bury them in the soil. Snails reproduce frequently, as often as every month. Photographed in Mossel Bay, South Africa.
Size: 5120px × 3427px
Photo credit: © PETER CHADWICK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: achatinidae, africa, african, animal, bay, behaviour, biological, biology, couple, duo, fauna, gastropod, giant, hermaphrodite, hermaphrodites, hermaphroditic, invertebrate, invertebrates, mating, mollusc, mollusca, mossel, nature, pair, reproducing, reproduction, reproductive, shells, snail, snails, south, wildlife, zoological, zoology
