Do you ever wonder what goes through the minds of scientists as they’re naming newly described species? Some will name it after themselves. Some will name it after their favorite video game character (looking at you, Sonic Hedgehog, and the SHH Hox gene).
Most, however, simply name a critter by the Latin or Greek word that describes some distinguishable characteristics. But what if the most distinguishable characteristic is that this animal is constantly trying to fornicate?
I present Crepidula fornicata, the common slipper shell.
The slipper shell is a marine snail that looks less like what you think of as a snail and more like, well, a slipper. And while these little guys aren’t going to do much good keeping your feet warm in the morning, they do have some pretty interesting reproductive behaviors.
The snails gather in clusters, piling one on top of the other and don’t really move from that spot. And in these clusters, the slippers are constantly trying to reproduce. The snail at the bottom of the cluster is female, and all the compiling snails are males, competing to fertilize her eggs. If the female were to get knocked off the cluster, the next snail would then become a female and be subjected to the male snails and their ceaseless libido.
This is a behavior called sequential hermaphroditism and isn’t unique to just the slipper shell. Sequential hermaphroditism simply refers to an animal changing its biological sex at some point in its life cycle. A well-known example of this is the clownfish, wherein if the dominant breeding female dies, her partner will transition from male to female and become the next dominant breeding female.
It’s a tough world out there for a snail. Everything is already trying to make an easy meal out of you. And now you have to carry around all these males that are only trying to reproduce? I hope those snails at least get paid maternity leave…
