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Jeremy, the world’s favorite left coiled garden snail, was found dead last week.
BEACON TRANSCRIPT – The story of Jeremy, a rare garden snail specimen made unique by its left-coiling shell has now come to an end. While this special lefty has gone to the great gardens in the sky, his legacy should still live on through its three descendants, born just days before Jeremy’s death.
#RIPjeremy #jeremyschildren #wearethenews pic.twitter.com/vw7XlKK66v
— Shellebrity snail (@leftysnail) October 13, 2017
Jeremy Left Behind Three Offspring and a Complicated Tale
Jeremy was not the average garden snail. Instead, this brown specimen was “one in a million” as its shell coiled to the left and not the usual right. This also means that all of its organs, including the reproductive ones, were on the other side.
After being discovered by scientists, these had to release a worldwide appeal for the discovery of another left-coiling snail, one that could become Jeremy’s partner.
Following the discovery of not one but two such specimens, everyone’s heart went out to Jeremy once again after the researchers revealed that he was actually the third wheel in this relationship.
Now, late last week, the research team came with bittersweet news about the “Shellebrity snail”. They announced that Jeremy was found dead in its fridge-home. At the same time, they also revealed that, just days before, the lefty snail had successfully mated with his fellow left Tomeau. This resulted in three offspring, although neither one of them is left coiled.
Also, the research team announced that they received four other left-coiled snails. All of them came from a snail farm in Spain, which offered further wind in the sails of an existing theory.
The scientists consider that the left-coiled shell of these specimens is most likely a genetic trait, passed down not from one generation to the other but rather from “grandfather” to “grandson” or even further down the line.
This may be the end for Jeremy, but now that the snail has finally produced offspring, this is a waypoint in our long term research goal to understand the genetics of body asymmetry,” declared Dr. Angus Davidson.
Part of the University of Nottingham’s School of Life Sciences, he is the initiator of the left-coiled snails’ study.
Scientists are hoping to translate their research findings into a better understanding of the human body and its development.
Image Source: Pixabay
