Snail Sex Tape

The podcast explores the bizarre and complex sexual behavior of snails, particularly their use of "love darts." Evolutionary biologist Menno Schilthuizen explains that snails, being hermaphrodites, engage in a kind of reproductive duel alongside sperm exchange. These duels involve shooting limestone "love darts" containing hormones into their partners. These hormones manipulate the female reproductive organs, increasing sperm uptake. The evolutionary arms race between snails has led to a variety of dart types, mating behaviors, and genital structures. Some snails stab their partners thousands of times to deliver more hormones, while others leave darts behind after mating. The existence of love darts even inspires thoughts about the origin of myths like Cupid.