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Kingdom Animalia
All of life on earth is divided into two kingdoms: the animal kingdom and the plant kingdom. Snails belong to the animal, or Animalia, kingdom. Unlike the plant kingdom, members of the animal kingdom are mobile, ingest other organisms to survive and comprise many different specialized cells and tissues.
Phylum Mollusca
One phylum, or division, of the animal kingdom is called Mollusca, which includes soft-bodied invertebrates such as squids, octopuses, mussels, clams, sea cucumbers and snails. This group is so diverse that few features occur in every member. The phylum's largest member, the giant squid, has no shell but an invertebrate body that measures 26 feet long; its full size with tentacles extended is 72 feet long. Much smaller mollusks such as clams and snails are completely or partially covered by shells of hardened secretions from the soft mantle covering each animal's body.
Class Gastropoda
Phylum Mollusca is further divided into various classes, including the gastropod, or Gastropoda, class. This includes snails, conchs, limpets, whelks, abalones, periwinkles and slugs; a slug is actually a snail whose shell occurs as a tiny internal fragment or is missing altogether through evolution. When threatened by a predator, a soft-bodied invertebrate like the snail can retreat into its hard shell for protection.
Subclasses
A versatile class, Gastropoda includes species that live on land and in water. Those living on land and breathing air are grouped under the subclass of Pulmonata. Marine snails, those living in water, are included in the subclass Prosobranchia. These subclasses are further divided into various orders, families, genera and species. The typical brown garden snail, for example, belongs to the Pulmonata subclass, the Stylommataphora order, the Helicidae family, and the Helix aspersa genus and species.