Helix lucorum is a species of large, edible, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Helicidae, the typical snails.[1]

Helix lucorum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Stylommatophora
Family: Helicidae
Subfamily: Helicinae
Tribe: Helicini
Genus: Helix
Species:
H. lucorum
Binomial name
Helix lucorum
Synonyms[1]
List
  • Helix (Helicogena) ancyrensis Kobelt, 1905 (junior synonym)
  • Helix (Helicogena) ancyrensis haussknechti Kobelt, 1905 (junior synonym)
  • Helix (Helicogena) everekensis Kobelt, 1907 (junior synonym)
  • Helix (Helicogena) halepensis Kobelt, 1905 (junior synonym)
  • Helix (Helicogena) quinquefasciata Kobelt, 1905 (junior synonym)
  • Helix (Helix) lucorum Linnaeus, 1758· accepted, alternate representation
  • Helix (Pomatia) dorylaeensis Kobelt, 1903 (junior synonym)
  • Helix (Pomatia) dorylaensis Nägele, 1903 (suspected synonym)
  • Helix annosa Mascarini, 1892
  • Helix atrocincta Bourguignat, 1883
  • Helix castanea Olivier, 1801 (invalid; not O. F. Müller, 1774)
  • Helix castanea var. bulgarica Kobelt, 1905 (junior synonym)
  • Helix castanea var. nigerrima Kobelt, 1905 (junior synonym)
  • Helix lucorum anaphora Westerlund, 1889
  • Helix lucorum hueti Kobelt, 1905 (junior synonym)
  • Helix lucorum loebbeckei Kobelt, 1905 (junior synonym)
  • Helix lucorum moussoni Kobelt, 1905 (invalid; not L. Pfeiffer, 1849)
  • Helix lucorum var. euphratica E. von Martens, 1874 (junior synonym)
  • Helix mahometana Bourguignat, 1860 (junior synonym)
  • Helix mutata Lamarck, 1822 (junior synonym)
  • Helix nigrozonata Bourguignat, 1883
  • Helix onixiomicra Bourguignat, 1860 (junior synonym)
  • Helix onixiomicra var. presbensis Kobelt, 1905 (junior synonym)
  • Helix radiosa Rossmässler, 1838 (junior synonym)
  • Helix rumelica var. magnifica Kobelt, 1905 (junior synonym)
  • Helix rypara Bourguignat, 1883
  • Helix schachbulakensis Bourguignat, 1876 (junior synonym)
  • Helix socia L. Pfeiffer, 1853 (junior synonym)
  • Helix taurica Krynicki, 1833
  • Helix virago Bourguignat, 1883

Description

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The shell of Helix lucorum
 
var. boettgeri

Adult snails weigh about 20–25 g.[2]

The width of the shell is 35–60 mm.[3] The height of the shell is 25–45 mm.[3]

This species of snail makes and uses love darts.

Distribution

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The native distribution is the Caucasus, Anatolia and, arguably, the Balkans. It has also invaded many other regions since ancient times, likely assisted by humans.[4]

Eastern native range with main genetic diversity of the species:

Balkans (probably native):

Other countries:

Ecology

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The diameter of the egg is 4.4 mm.[12] Juvenile snails that are two to three months old weigh 0.5–0.9 g.[2]

Human use

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Measurement of DNA damage in H. lucorum collected from environmental sites can be used for evaluating soil pollution at these sites.[13] DNA damage in H. lucorum haemocytes and digestive gland cells is determined by the comet assay.

Helix lucorum is used in cuisine as escargots.

Helix lucorum (raw)
 
Helix lucorum served as escargots
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy95 kcal (400 kJ)
0 g
Sugars0 g
Dietary fiber0 g
1.59 g
Saturated0 g
Trans0 g
19.05 g
Vitamins and minerals
VitaminsQuantity
%DV
Vitamin A equiv.
0%
0 μg
Vitamin C
0%
0 mg
MineralsQuantity
%DV
Calcium
12%
159 mg
Iron
13%
2.29 mg
Sodium
4%
103 mg
Other constituentsQuantity
Cholesterol206 mg

Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults,[14] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Helix lucorum Linnaeus, 1758. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1050278 on 2020-05-02
  2. ^ a b Danilova A.B. & Grinkevich L. N. (2012). "Failure of Long-Term Memory Formation in Juvenile Snails Is Determined by Acetylation Status of Histone H3 and Can Be Improved by NaB Treatment". PLoS ONE 7(7): e41828. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0041828.
  3. ^ a b c (in Czech) Horsák M., Juřičková L., Beran L., Čejka T. & Dvořák L. (2010). "Komentovaný seznam měkkýšů zjištěných ve volné přírodě České a Slovenské republiky. [Annotated list of mollusc species recorded outdoors in the Czech and Slovak Republics]". Malacologica Bohemoslovaca, Suppl. 1: 1-37. PDF.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Korábek O., Juřičková L., Balashov I., Petrusek A. The contribution of ancient and modern anthropogenic introductions to the colonization of Europe by the land snail Helix lucorum Linnaeus, 1758 (Helicidae) // Contributions to Zoology. — 2018. — 87 (2). — P. 61—74.
  5. ^ Mumladze L. (2013). "Shell size differences in Helix lucorum Linnaeus, 1758 (Mollusca: Gastropoda) between natural and urban environments". Turkish Journal of Zoology 37: 1-6.
  6. ^ Commonwealth of Australia (2002 April). "Citrus Imports from the Arab Republic of Egypt. A Review Under Existing Import Conditions for Citrus from Israel Archived 2009-01-09 at the Wayback Machine". Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Australia. Caption: Gastropods, page 12 and Appendix 2.
  7. ^ Balashov I. & Gural-Sverlova N. (2012). "An annotated checklist of the terrestrial molluscs of Ukraine". Journal of Conchology 41(1): 91-109.
  8. ^ Balashov I.A., Kramarenko S.S., Zhukov A.V., Shklyaruk A.N., Baidashnikov A.A., Vasyliuk A.V. 2013. Contribution to the knowledge of terrestrial molluscs in southeastern Ukraine. Malacologica Bohemoslovaca. 12: 62–69.
  9. ^ Peltanová A., Petrusek A., Kment P. & Juřičková L. (2011). "A fast snail's pace: colonization of Central Europe by Mediterranean gastropods". Biological Invasions 14(4): 759-764. doi:10.1007/s10530-011-0121-9.
  10. ^ Čejka T. & Čačaný J. (2014). "The first record of the Turkish snail (Helix lucorum L., 1758) in the Slovak Republic". Malacologica Bohemoslovaca 13: 124–125. PDF.
  11. ^ Palmer, P. (2010). "Helix lucorum in Wimbledon, S.W. London". Mollusc World. 23: 12.
  12. ^ Heller J.: Life History Strategies. in Barker G. M. (ed.): The biology of terrestrial molluscs. CABI Publishing, Oxon, UK, 2001, ISBN 0-85199-318-4. 1-146, cited page: 428.
  13. ^ Sargsyan A, Hovhannisyan G, Simonyan A, Arakelyan M, Arzumanyan M, Aroutiounian R. Application of land snail Helix lucorum for evaluation of genotoxicity of soil pollution. Mutat Res Genet Toxicol Environ Mutagen. 2022 Jun;878:503500. doi: 10.1016/j.mrgentox.2022.503500. Epub 2022 May 6. PMID 35649673
  14. ^ United States Food and Drug Administration (2024). "Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels". FDA. Archived from the original on 2024-03-27. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  15. ^ National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Food and Nutrition Board; Committee to Review the Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium (2019). Oria, Maria; Harrison, Meghan; Stallings, Virginia A. (eds.). Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium. The National Academies Collection: Reports funded by National Institutes of Health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press (US). ISBN 978-0-309-48834-1. PMID 30844154. Archived from the original on 2024-05-09. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
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