Lonely snail seeks mate for love in genetic study

Scientists at the University of Nottingham are asking the public for help in finding a mate for a very rare, left-spiralled garden snail.

At first glance, the brown garden snail, called Jeremy, may look like any other but closer inspection of the snail’s shell reveals the ‘lefty’ snail is a mirror image of its other shell-dwelling friends.

It is impossible for it to mate with its more common counterparts.

Dr Davison said:

Research using these snails could offer the chance to develop understanding of how organs are placed in the body and why this process can sometimes go wrong when some or all of the major internal organs are reversed from their normal placement.