Audit expert: Li Weiyang
Well-known popular science writer
Source 丨 Weibo
Summer is the rainy season. After the summer, many parks and communities in the south of China frequently appear a kind of fist-sized snail, which looks "cute", and even many people have the idea of taking them home as pets, while foodies are more concerned about another question: can these snails eat?
In this regard, the local disease control departments urgently remind everyone not to be confused by their harmless appearance of humans and animals, if you grab them with your hands at will, or let them crawl on the body, it may even be life-threatening!
What's going on here? Today, let's find out.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="55" what exactly are you talking about when > you talk about snails? </h1>
Speaking of snails, I believe that many people will not feel strange, there should be many small partners like Xiaobian, bringing local small snails home to raise.
The striped snail collected at the Beijing Science Center, after taking pictures, put it back to the source 丨 author
What many people don't know, however, is that the term "snail" as we often refer to is not strictly referred to a certain class of organisms in biology, but refers to some groups of mollusks that live in terrestrial and freshwater environments. In the Western context, aquatic snails and terrestrial snails can be called "snails", while snails in Chinese generally refer to terrestrial species in gastropods.
Snail anatomy source 丨 Baidu Encyclopedia
Although biologically related may not be close, snails usually have a similar appearance, the entire body consists of eyes, mouth, feet, shells, antennae and other parts, the body is covered with snail shells of different shapes and sizes.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" Data-track="54" How do > snails climb onto the human table? </h1>
When it comes to eating snails, the first thing that comes to mind must be a French meal. France has many world-renowned cuisines, and the French snail is one of the most representative. Today, many people already consider snails to be a delicacy unique to France.
Food store counter in Pompeii Source 丨 Tencent.com
However, bringing snails to the table as a delicacy is not original to France. As early as the Roman Empire, people had begun to eat snails. During excavations of Pompeii, archaeologists also found snails in clay pots used to store food at the ancient city's food store.
French baked snail Source 丨 Zhihu
The history of snail consumption by the French dates back to the Middle Ages. At that time, France had begun to grow grapes on a large scale, and in order to eliminate snails that harmed the grape leaves, people began to capture wild snails, wash and cook them and eat them. Over time, people continued to improve their cooking methods, and by the 18th century, eating snails had become popular in France, and a variety of popular eating methods appeared throughout France.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="29" > snails on the side of the road you don't touch! </h1>
Don't get me wrong, we're not here to make food recommendations today! Next, let's return to the main theme of the African big snail.
The African giant snail (Achatina fulica), also known as the brown cloud agate snail, belongs to the African large snail genus of the gastropod stalk eye agate snail family, native to eastern Africa. Unlike the common spiral-shaped, flattened snail shell, the african large snail has a thinner, spindle-shaped shell with a shape similar to that of aquatic snails, with brown or brown patterns on the shell.
African Giant Snail Source 丨 Wiki
However, when it comes to the biggest difference from other common snails, it is also its size. Adult African large snails can average up to 8 centimeters in length, up to 20 centimeters or more, and have a lifespan of up to 9 years, which can be regarded as a veritable giant among snails.
African giant snails need to constantly replenish water to maintain their normal life activities, and continuous direct sunlight can also lead to dehydration, so African large snails usually live in a dark and humid environment, maintaining the habit of day and night. Therefore, the time when people meet the "group travel" African snail is usually the night after the rain.
A very famous photo of a large African snail source 丨 network
As early as the early 20th century, some people began to breed african snails and eat them, and there are even rumors that the US military during World War II used this snail as a storage grain. As for the history of The African Giant Snail entering China, it dates back to the 1930s, when the African Giant Snail was introduced to Taiwan as food for breeding, and some of the snails fled to the wild, began to breed and spread to the mainland through various channels.
The African giant snail feeds mainly on plant leaves, and the amount of food is amazing, and once it enters the farmland, it will bring great harm to the crops.
Not only that, but the African giant snail is also an intermediate host for rodent lung worms (also known as Guangzhou tube roundworm), which can easily cause meningitis after entering the human body and cause permanent damage to the central nervous system. As early as 1985, there was news that Taiwan residents had eaten African snails raw, resulting in the death of a family of 5.
Microscopic Guangzhou tube roundworm source 丨 Evergreen Net
In addition, the African giant snail is also a carrier of a variety of pathogens, and contains many parasites and germs in its mucus and feces.
Source 丨 Screenshot of the cartoon "SpongeBob SquarePants"
Therefore, the African giant snail has become one of the first 16 species of organisms to be included in the "List of Invasive Alien Species in China" in China, and the relevant departments have also adopted mechanical, biological, chemical control and other methods in order to completely eliminate these dangerous invasive species.
Although as an important member of the gastronomic world, snail beef has become a high-quality ingredient sought after by "foodies" with its unique taste, rich protein content, extremely low fat and almost zero cholesterol, but these African snails living in the wild are more like small bombs hiding "biological weapons" than farmed edible snails.
Source 丨Shu.com
Here, Xiaobian would like to remind everyone that if there is a small partner who wants to taste the delicious snail, he must choose a snail produced from a regular breeding institution and eat it after scientific cooking and processing. As for the big snails that appear after the rain, let's try to stay away!