Animal field guide
Pointed Snail
Cochlicella acuta
In dry weather this land snail, with its tall, slender, sharply pointed shell, climbs the stems of grasses and other plants, often in dense clusters. It seals itself there, lifted off the hot ground until rain returns.
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Marine invertebrate · Europe · Open · Relatively common
Known for: Tall, Shell usually about 10 to 20 millimetres high, Many tightly coiled whorls, Whitish to fawn shell with brown bands or streaks
Animal field guide
Pointed Snail
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In dry weather this land snail, with its tall, slender, sharply pointed shell, climbs the stems of grasses and other plants, often in dense clusters. It seals itself there, lifted off the hot ground until rain returns.
Native range
Natural range, not this capture location
Open, dry, sunny ground, especially coastal sand dunes, dune grassland, cliff tops and calcareous grassland near the sea, along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of Europe and North Africa.
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Dominance
1
Speed
1
Size
1
Intelligence
3
Rarity
15%
Total
21
Size scale
STEP 2 · PROVE IT
STEP 3 · BATTLE & FUSE
Understand the animal
Understand the Pointed Snail
Factual biology first: what this animal is like, where it lives, how it survives, and why those traits exist.
01
Introduction to Pointed Snail
In dry weather this land snail, with its tall, slender, sharply pointed shell, climbs the stems of grasses and other plants, often in dense clusters. It seals itself there, lifted off the hot ground until rain returns.
How to identify a Pointed Snail
- Tall, narrow, sharply pointed conical shell
- Shell usually about 10 to 20 millimetres high
- Many tightly coiled whorls, often nine or more
- Whitish to fawn shell with brown bands or streaks
Why Pointed Snail are interesting
- In southern Australia, where it was introduced, it is a pest of grain crops because snails climbing the stalks are harvested with the grain.
- Shell colour pattern varies a lot, from nearly plain white to heavily banded or streaked.
- The species name acuta is Latin for sharp or pointed.
- In Britain and Ireland, near the northern edge of its range, it is found almost entirely close to the coast.
02
Adaptations and biological abilities
03
Why does Pointed Snail behave this way?
- Tall, narrow, sharply pointed conical shell
- Shell usually about 10 to 20 millimetres high
- Many tightly coiled whorls, often nine or more
- Whitish to fawn shell with brown bands or streaks
Active mainly at night and after rain, when the ground is damp. On ordinary days it rests low among plant bases, under litter or beneath stones.
04
Why Open?
Habitat: Open, dry, sunny ground, especially coastal sand dunes, dune grassland, cliff tops and calcareous grassland near the sea, along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of Europe and North Africa.
Native range: Europe, North Africa & Middle East, Mediterranean
Native range
Natural range, not this specific capture location.
Some regional overlays are unavailable in this web build.
Open, dry, sunny ground, especially coastal sand dunes, dune grassland, cliff tops and calcareous grassland near the sea, along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of Europe and North Africa.
05
Why this diet?
Grazes on decaying plant material, fungi, algae and fine organic film on stems and the soil surface, rasping food with its toothed radula.
06
Activity, rest, and lifespan
Active mainly at night and after rain, when the ground is damp. On ordinary days it rests low among plant bases, under litter or beneath stones.
Usually about one year, with some individuals living into a second year.
07
Pointed Snail reproduction
Mating is reciprocal, with each partner passing sperm to the other. Eggs are laid in small batches in damp soil, mostly in autumn and winter, and hatch as tiny snails with no larval stage.
There are no separate sexes: every adult is a hermaphrodite with both male and female organs, so no visible differences exist.
08
Predators, threats, and defense
Song thrushes and other birds, small mammals, ground beetles and other snail-eating insects take it. When disturbed it withdraws into its shell.
09
Conservation and rarity
Rarity: Relatively common · 15/100. AnimalDex canonical rarity score: 15/100, maintained by the live indexed species profile.
- Observe from a respectful distance and avoid changing the animal's behavior.
- Do not block feeding, shelter, nesting, or travel routes.
- Use a live camera capture without handling or staging wildlife.
Speak to the animal
Speak to the Pointed Snail
It answers as itself: ask about how it lives, or bring it something of yours and hear what it would do, from its own Power.
Anonymous: 3/day. Signed-in: 10/day. Pro: 100/day.
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Compare the Pointed Snail
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Battled in the Arena
No one has taken a Pointed Snail into an Arena battle yet. Battles players fight with this animal in the AnimalDex app show up here.
Where to find them
Where to find Pointed Snail
To find Pointed Snail in the wild, focus on the exact habitat patches that match its body design and daily behavior, not just the broad country where it exists. You usually do better by working one good piece of habitat inside europe, North Africa & Middle East, Mediterranean than by covering too much ground.
- Rocky slopes, ridge lines, cliff ledges, or open mountain meadows with a wide view
- Open grassland edges, lightly wooded plains, or raised ground where you can scan long distances
- Water sources, dune bases, rocky wadis, or shaded scrub at first and last light
Scientific name
Cochlicella acuta
Category
Marine invertebrate
Habitat
Open, dry, sunny ground, especially coastal sand dunes, dune grassland, cliff tops and calcareous grassland near the sea, along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of Europe and North Africa.
Rarity
Relatively common · 15/100
Native range
Europe, North Africa & Middle East, Mediterranean
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