A snail is a member of the Mollusca family called a gastropod, word which means ‘stomach foot’, and this describes the snail very well.
The foot on which the snail moves is also the base of its whole body and the snail moves by expanding and contracting its muscles, just as we move our muscles.
Because the snail’s body is so soft and sensitive, like the bodies of all Mollusca, it would tear easily on sharp stones or thorns in the snail’s path. So the snail secretes a special sticky slime, which covers the base of the foot and leaves a trail on your garden path, and which means that snail can move along easily without much rubbing or friction.
