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A Lonely Snail With an Unusual Shell Strikes Out in Love | Smart News | Smithsonian
/https://public-media.smithsonianmag.com/filer/d4/aa/d4aa205c-fa0b-4506-bf3c-111f0cb3299e/jeremy_and_baby2.jpg)
Finding that special someone can be difficult—especially when you’re a snail with atypically aligned genitals.
As Samantha Schmidt reports for the Washington Post, a lonely garden snail named Jeremy has been consistently unlucky in love. He has a rare genetic mutation that makes his shell spiral to the left, which means that his sex organs are located on his left side. Most snails have right-spiraling shells, with their organs on their right side. Snails are hermaphrodites, but their genitals need to align for mating to occur. And because snails face each other when they do the deed, Jeremy’s genitals just don’t match up with those of potential partners.
Angus Davison, an associate professor at the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nottingham, has been studying Jeremy for eight months. Back in October, he took it upon himself to act as the little guy’s wingman. Davison put out a call to the public, asking them to keep their eyes peeled for other “lefty” snails that might be able to get it on with Jeremy.
The campaign was a success. Jeremy became a media celebrity—or “shellebrity,” according to his Twitter account—and within a few weeks, two potential mates were located: Lefty, who belonged to a collector in England, and Tomeu, who was spotted at a restaurant and rescued before he could become somebody’s next meal.
As Melissa Chan explains for Time, Davison tucked the snails away in a lab so they could hibernate for three months. He hoped that Jeremy would finally get lucky when the critters woke up, but alas, it was not meant to be.
Finding that special someone can be difficult—especially when you’re a snail with atypically aligned genitals.
As Samantha Schmidt reports for the Washington Post, a lonely garden snail named Jeremy has been consistently unlucky in love. He has a rare genetic mutation that makes his shell spiral to the left, which means that his sex organs are located on his left side. Most snails have right-spiraling shells, with their organs on their right side. Snails are hermaphrodites, but their genitals need to align for mating to occur. And because snails face each other when they do the deed, Jeremy’s genitals just don’t match up with those of potential partners.
Angus Davison, an associate professor at the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nottingham, has been studying Jeremy for eight months. Back in October, he took it upon himself to act as the little guy’s wingman. Davison put out a call to the public, asking them to keep their eyes peeled for other “lefty” snails that might be able to get it on with Jeremy.
The campaign was a success. Jeremy became a media celebrity—or “shellebrity,” according to his Twitter account—and within a few weeks, two potential mates were located: Lefty, who belonged to a collector in England, and Tomeu, who was spotted at a restaurant and rescued before he could become somebody’s next meal.
As Melissa Chan explains for Time, Davison tucked the snails away in a lab so they could hibernate for three months. He hoped that Jeremy would finally get lucky when the critters woke up, but alas, it was not meant to be.
