Snail Senses

Sight

Terrestrial snails have primitive eyes (referred to as 'eyespots') that are located on the tips of their upper, longer pair of tentacles. But snails don't see in the same way we do. Their eyes are less complex and provide them with a general sense of light and dark in their surroundings.

Touch

The short tentacles located on a snail's head are very sensitive to touch sensations and are used to help the snail build a picture of its environment based on feeling nearby objects.

Hearing

Snails don't have ears but instead use their bottom set of tentacles to pick up sound vibrations in the air.

Sources

For a list of sources used in the creation of this visual guide, please see the Recommended Reading page.