Love dart goo gives snail sperm a head start
نویسندگان
چکیده
منابع مشابه
Changes in the reproductive system of the snail Helix aspersa caused by mucus from the love dart.
The function of the love dart in certain species of terrestrial snails is unknown. In Helix aspersa, the dart is a sharp calcareous structure that is used to pierce the partner's skin during courtship. When expelled, the dart is covered with a thick mucus. The hypothesis tested here is that the mucus contains a biologically active substance. Extracts of the digitiform glands that produce this m...
متن کاملThe snail's love-dart delivers mucus to increase paternity.
Many of the seemingly bizarre animal behaviours can be understood only by acknowledging the power of sex to shape evolution. A case in point is the so-called love-dart that some terrestrial molluscs shoot at their prospective sexual partners. Given that the likelihood of copulation is not different after solid hits than after complete misses, why do these suitors act so violently towards their ...
متن کاملHigh level of sperm competition may increase transfer of accessory gland products carried by the love dart of land snails
Postcopulatory adaptations that increase reproductive success compared to rivals, like the transfer of accessory gland products that promote paternity, are common when sperm competition occurs among males. In land snails, the dart shooting behavior and its adaptive significance, in promoting individual fitness through enhanced paternity of the successful dart shooter, have been considered such ...
متن کاملHidden female physiological resistance to male accessory gland substances in a simultaneous hermaphrodite
To increase fertilization chances compared with rivals, males are favoured to transfer accessory gland proteins to females during mating. These substances, by influencing female physiology, cause alteration of her sperm usage and remating rate. Simultaneously hermaphroditic land snails with love-darts are a case in point. During courtship, a love-dart is pierced through the partner's body wall,...
متن کاملThe love-darts of land snails: integrating physiology, morphology and behaviour
Several land snail species of the helicoid and limacoid superfamilies possess one or more love-darts, which seem to have evolved as a result of conflict over the fate of donated sperm and/or as a way to select the most fit sperm donor. A love-dart is a calcareous stylet used during mating encounters to pierce the partner's body wall. When used, it carries accessory gland mucous products that in...
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ژورنال
عنوان ژورنال: Journal of Experimental Biology
سال: 2014
ISSN: 1477-9145,0022-0949
DOI: 10.1242/jeb.105205