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Animal profile

Giant African Land Snail

Lissachatina fulica

GastropodaWarm, humid lowland forest, agricultural land and gardens

Field profile

The giant African land snail is one of the largest terrestrial gastropods, with a conical shell that can exceed 15 centimetres. It is a generalist herbivore that eats hundreds of plant species and also rasps at plaster and bone for calcium. Outside its native East Africa it is treated as a serious agricultural and public-health pest.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2025-02-27

Giant African Land Snail

A garden pest that rasps stucco off houses

The giant African land snail needs calcium to build its very large shell, and it will scrape it from painted walls, plaster and concrete when plants alone cannot supply enough. The damage is a side effect of shell growth, not appetite for buildings.

Read with evidence →

Giant African Land Snail | Daily Animal Facts