The grove snail or brown-lipped snail (Cepaea nemoralis) is a species of air-breathingland snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc. It is one of the most common species of land snail in Europe and has been introduced to North America. Cepaea nemoralis is the tye species of the genus Cepaea. It is used as a model organism in citizen science projects.
Cepaea nemoralis is among the largest and because of its polymorphism and bright colours one of the most easily identified snails in Western Europe. The color of the shellof Cepaea nemoralis is very variable, reddish, brownish, yellow or whitish, with or without dark brown colour bands. Apertural lip usually dark brown, rarely white. The umbilicusis narrow but open in juveniles, closed in adults. For every colour variant names were established in the 1800s, this was later abandoned. The surface of the shell is semi-glossy, and it has from 4½ to 5½ whorls. The width of the shell is 18–25 mm. The height of the shell is 12–22 mm.
Like most Pulmonate land snails, it is hermaphrodite and must mate to produce fertile eggs. Mating tends to be concentrated in late spring and early summer, though it can continue through the autumn.The snails often store the sperm they receive from their partner for some time, and individual broods can have mixed paternity.