The Australian trumpet snail weighs up to 18kg with a bright yellow leg dragging along a massive shell up to 91cm long.
Traveling to the western and northern coasts of Australia, people may stumble upon the world’s largest snail, the Australian trumpet snail (Syrinx aruanus). They are formidable predators that forage on the sea floor, comparable in size to a Border Collie.
Research shows that mollusks started as a small flat snail covered in a shell of many sharp spines. Then this group of animals gradually developed and impressive creatures of all sizes were born, from snails Angustopila dominicae from tiny things that can fit into the eye of a needle to giant Australian trumpet snails.
Not only is the Australian trumpet snail the largest snail in the world, it is also the largest-shelled gastropod on Earth. With its bright yellow legs, it pulls along a massive shell that can be up to 91 cm long. Weighing in at up to 18 kg, lifting one is like lifting a car tire.
Field observations and analysis of Australian trumpet snail excreta indicate that they prefer to feed on large polychaetes such as Polyodontes, Loimia and Diopatra. In a study on the ResearchGate In 2003, expert John D. Taylor at the Natural History Museum in London and his colleagues said that in July – August 2000, a number of individuals were discovered on the mudflats of Withnell Bay, Western Australia.
By gently pulling Australian trumpet snails out of the quicksand, the team found that some individuals were inserting their proboscises into large polychaete tubes (tubes where polychaete worms live and are protected). Some individuals were lying on top of the large hollow polychaete tubes, while others were lying in depressions in the quicksand.
The longest tube the team was able to extract was 57 cm. “Having a long, extendable proboscis is essential for capturing these large worms, which can retreat deep into tubes. Some Australian trumpet snails observed in the field had a narrow proboscis extending at least 250 mm into the tube,” they write.
In addition to their impressive size, the Australian trumpet snail also has a unique shape that is likened to a trumpet. Their shells have a distinctive spiral structure. The empty shells can be used by Australian natives as musical instruments and water containers.