Detecting sea snail species raising children 'enemy'

According to the research results of scientists at the University of California, Davis (USA), Solenosteira macrospira is among the few species that males keep the task of taking care of children.

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Solenosteira macrospira male snail (left) carries eggshell on its back.

Scientists found that, on average, only a quarter of the eggs that snails Solenosteira macrospira males carry on their backs. In hundreds of eggs, it is the offspring of about 25 other males.

Stephanie Kamel, co-author of the study, said that when the snail mates, the female with the egg-puffiness contains hundreds of children into the shell of the male. This shell acts as a substitute for a block of rock because the snail's habitat does not have many places for it to stick eggs.

Male snail shells can be attached with dozens of eggs, each containing about 250 eggs. When eggs hatch for 1 month, many hungry snails will eat their own brothers. Only a few snail snails can survive this massacre and escape the eggs.

Kamel tested DNA eggs to determine their parents. As a result, on average, only 24% of baby snails are children of puffer-snail snails."The unfinished snail is surprising," Kamel said, adding that some females mate with more than 10 different males.

Reference: Sciencedaily