![]() For example, in land snails of the genus Helix, including the escargot Helix pomatia, and the common garden snail Helix aspersa (also known as Cornu aspersum and Cantareus aspersus), copulation is preceded by an elaborate tactile courtship. The mating dance Courtship in the edible snail, Helix pomatia Drawing of the head of a Helix pomatia prior to mating, showing the everted penis, and the dart sac in the process of shooting a love dart. ![]() What all the shapes of love darts have in common is their harpoon-like or needle-like ability to pierce.Ĭourting Cornu aspersum snails in Ireland, the one on the right has a fired love dart embedded in its body. Love darts are shaped in many distinctive ways, which vary considerably between species. This is because mucus on the dart contains an allomone (pheromone-like) compound that promotes sperm preservation mechanisms in the female. Nevertheless, recent research shows that use of the dart can strongly favor the reproductive outcome for the snail that is able to lodge a dart in its partner. The exchange of sperm between both of the two land snails is a completely separate part of the mating progression. The love dart is not a penial stylet (in other words, this is not an accessory organ for sperm transfer). The dart does not fly through the air to reach its target, but is "fired" as a contact shot. There is no organ to receive the dart this action is more analogous to stabbing, or to being shot with an arrow or flechette. Prior to copulation, each of the two snails (or slugs) attempts to "shoot" one (or more) darts into the other snail (or slug). The process of using love darts in snails is a form of sexual selection. Darts are quite large compared to the size of the animal: in the case of the semi-slug genus Parmarion, the length of a dart can be up to one fifth that of the semi-slug's foot. These darts are made in sexually mature animals only, and are used as part of the sequence of events during courtship, before actual mating takes place. Love darts are both formed and stored internally in a dart sac. Drawing showing a side view of the love dart of the edible snail Helix pomatia.Ĥ = sharp tip or blade of the dart A love dart from Cornu aspersum (garden snail) on a ruler for comparison, showing its length of 7 mm.Ī love dart (also known as a gypsobelum, shooting darts, or just as darts) is a sharp, calcareous or chitinous dart which some hermaphroditic land snails and slugs create. SEM image of lateral view of a love dart of the land snail Monachoides vicinus. JSTOR ( March 2023) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message).Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. This article needs additional citations for verification.
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