Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Snails Hitched Ride on Birds to Cross Atlantic

Posted by Hemos on from the come-and-take-a-ride-with-a-helluva-guy dept.

Ant writes "This MSNBC story reports that snails hitched ride on birds to cross ocean separated by 5,500 miles of water (Europe to an island in the South Atlantic) are same genus. This was according to a new research. Snails of the genus Balea are found throughout Europe and the Azores, the group of islands in the middle of the North Atlantic, and similar snails can be found on a tiny island chain in the South Atlantic. Because of the enormous distance between these two groups, scientists have long believed they belonged to a different genus, Tristania. Now, genetic and anatomical analyses show that the Tristania snails are actually members of the Balea genus. The study, published in the journal Nature, indicates that Balea snails somehow traveled from Europe to the Azores and evolved into two different species. Then, some packed up and headed 5,500 miles south to Tristan da Cunha, where they further differentiated into eight more species... Seen on Shacknews."

48 comments

  1. Ok, but how did the elephants do it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Hrm?

    1. Re:Ok, but how did the elephants do it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Really big birds.

    2. Re:Ok, but how did the elephants do it? by LightningBolt! · · Score: 3, Funny

      Guard: "What, a swallow, carrying an elephant?"

      Arthur: "It could grip it by the tusk."

      Guard: "It's not a question of where he grips it. It's a simple question of weight ratios. A five ounce bird could not carry a 2000 pound elephant!"

      --
      Old people fall. Young people spring. Rich people summer and winter.
    3. Re:Ok, but how did the elephants do it? by dangitman · · Score: 1

      They hitched a lift with the whales.

      --
      ... and then they built the supercollider.
    4. Re:Ok, but how did the elephants do it? by XxtraLarGe · · Score: 1

      Is that an African Swallow, or a European Swallow?

      --
      Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
    5. Re:Ok, but how did the elephants do it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bigger birds

  2. Aesop's Fables by jahudabudy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I seem to recall a similar story about a turtle and some birds from Aesop's Fables. Life imitating art?

    --
    ...sometimes, in order to hurt someone very badly, you have to tell that person terrible lies. - PA
    1. Re:Aesop's Fables by meringuoid · · Score: 1
      I seem to recall a similar story about a turtle and some birds from Aesop's Fables. Life imitating art?

      I recall the story of the death of Aeschylus, and the uncannily similar death of the False Prophet Vorbis...

      I also recall this being one hypothesis for how the seed of the coconut tree managed to spread itself. Unfortunately, the theory ran into difficulties regarding the practical lifting power of the available avians.

      --
      Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
    2. Re:Aesop's Fables by boldtbanan · · Score: 1

      Which do you mean, African or European avians?

    3. Re:Aesop's Fables by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 1

      Dammit! You beat me to it...

      --
      This guy's the limit!
  3. Snails hitching rides on Birds? by wertarbyte · · Score: 1

    They are probably brainslugs. Watch out!

    --
    Life is just nature's way of keeping meat fresh.
  4. now i know by middlemen · · Score: 4, Funny

    Oh good... now I finally know how snail mail works!

    1. Re:now i know by dangitman · · Score: 1

      Scientists have always wanted to understand the Pidgeon-to-Pidgeon transfer protocol.

      --
      ... and then they built the supercollider.
  5. Obl. Monthy Python by pimpimpim · · Score: 4, Funny

    Did they ride on the back of an african or a european swallow?

    --
    molmod.com - computing tips from a molecular modeling
    1. Re:Obl. Monthy Python by gowen · · Score: 1

      Not on the back, no. They were carried in half a hollowed-out coconut, strung between two swallows.

      --
      Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
  6. snail seen on Shacknews? by Cruciform · · Score: 1

    where they further differentiated into eight more species... Seen on Shacknews."

    Well, there's some pretty slimy people in the comments over there, but I wouldn't call them snails. :)

  7. A simpler answer by feijai · · Score: 1

    The FSM put the snails on both sides of the Atlantic. To test our faith!

    1. Re:A simpler answer by bbc · · Score: 1

      I am pretty sure pirates helped the snail cross the ocean.

  8. Ants by Kickersny.com · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This reminds me of a similar fact I heard that ants have been found on every island of the world, with no obvious explanation as to how they got there.

    Ironically enough, the Captcha image below is for the word "anteater."

    1. Re:Ants by idonthack · · Score: 3, Interesting

      There are no native ants on Hawaii. All were introduced by Europeans. It's probably true for a few other islands also.

      --
      Why is it that when you believe something it's an opinion, but when I believe something it's a manifesto?
    2. Re:Ants by east+coast · · Score: 1

      This reminds me of a similar fact I heard that ants have been found on every island of the world, with no obvious explanation as to how they got there.

      I think it's because the ants burrow into the husks of coconuts. These said coconuts are carried by birds to various islands.

      At least that's what I was told by this guy who told me the some great tricks to spot witches and stop earthquakes.

      --
      Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
    3. Re:Ants by antdude · · Score: 1

      I know Argentine ants hitchiked on a ship from South American to other countries like United States. See http://www-biology.ucsd.edu/news/article_051500.ht ml ...

      "The tiny dark-brown and black ants, which are about two millimeters in length, are thought to have entered the United States aboard ships carrying coffee or sugar from Argentina during the 1890s, then expanded throughout California and the southern parts of the United States. In the Southeast and much of the South, their proliferation is now limited to some extent by the introduction of fire ants."

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    4. Re:Ants by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I heard that ants have been found on every island of the world

      I find it unlikely that human beings have set foot on every island of the world.

    5. Re:Ants by barakn · · Score: 1

      You did know ants can fly, didn't you?

      --
      "I'm so moist I'm sticking to the leather." -Kermit the Frog on The Late Late Show
  9. Similar situation also happened... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...when rabbits rode on the backs of sea turtles, only to jump off at the last minute to win the race. Seems kinda unfair, if you ask me.

  10. This also explains... by east+coast · · Score: 5, Funny

    This also explains coconut migration.

    --
    Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
    1. Re:This also explains... by dohzer · · Score: 1

      I guess a swallow could grip it by the husk!

    2. Re:This also explains... by AngelofDeath-02 · · Score: 1

      I was always told that coconut migrated by being dropped in the ocean and being carried elsewhere by the waves of the ocean... That is ofcourse something I learned as a child and really don't question. But yah.

      --
      No, I am not an English major. My posts are subject to typos and incorrect grammar. Do not expect perfection.
    3. Re:This also explains... by SillySlashdotName · · Score: 2, Funny

      Not according to
      (chorus: HALLELUJAH!)
        Monty Python!
      (chorus: Amen, Brother!)

      And who are you going to believe, some anonymous somebody or
        (chorus: HALLELUJAH!)
      Monty Python?

      --
      Acts of massive stupidity are almost never covered by warranty. --me.
    4. Re:This also explains... by AngelofDeath-02 · · Score: 1

      hmm sorry I'm not a monty python fan, so I didn't get the joke

      --
      No, I am not an English major. My posts are subject to typos and incorrect grammar. Do not expect perfection.
  11. Air Escargot by Ranger · · Score: 2, Funny

    I for one welcome our bird-riding snail overlords. Oh, forget it! This is just getting silly.

    --
    "You'll get nothing, and you'll like it!"
  12. Imagine a race by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Think about a bird holding still long enough for a snail to climb aboard. Does this mean snails are faster than birds?

  13. Quite wrong... by meringuoid · · Score: 2, Funny

    ... it's obviously that the snails got there by way of a lost continent which formed a land bridge! This sunken land I am convinced we will find if we look hard enough, and I call it Snailuria!

    --
    Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
  14. Have you've seen ants float in water? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They can't break the surface tension. They can pratically bounce on water.

  15. Monkeys have also been employed by snails by Tedium+Unleased · · Score: 1

    http://70.86.201.113/imageserv2/temporary/PBF056AD SlowEscape.jpg

    1. Re:Monkeys have also been employed by snails by Tedium+Unleased · · Score: 1

      Wow... thanks. I thought sloths were like a mythical creature from the bible or something, related to the one of the deadly sins.

  16. unladen birds? by infinite9 · · Score: 1

    What if they were carried on a line...

    --
    Disconnect your television. Do your own research. Draw your own conclusions. They're probably lying. Don't be a sheep.
    1. Re:unladen birds? by Savantissimo · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Good idea - this gives us an opportunity for another layer of protocol tunneling - IP over Snail over Carrier-Pigeon. The data rate and ping times might be low, but now it has hard-shelled security.

      --
      "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?" - Patrick Henry
  17. If Snail can do it... by Zangief · · Score: 1

    Coconuts can too!

    King Arthur was right!

    1. Re:If Snail can do it... by NMThor · · Score: 1

      African or European?

  18. I know this will help with computations by Jakuta · · Score: 1

    Now we can see how long the journey will take the snails. http://www.style.org/unladenswallow/

  19. Nitpicking by xorowo · · Score: 1

    Since this migration probably happened hundreds of thousands of years ago (or, perhaps, millions), it's highly unlikely that life is imitating art here. Unless, of course, Aesop wrote his Fables long before written language was formed.

    1. Re:Nitpicking by jahudabudy · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I was actually thinking more along the lines of "old legend assumed to be a mere story that turns out to have a grain of truth buried in it", but that isn't nearly as pithy as "art imitating life", which is what I was thinking. Damn computers, always doing what I say, when they know damn well it isn't what I really mean.

      --
      ...sometimes, in order to hurt someone very badly, you have to tell that person terrible lies. - PA
  20. What about continental drift? by 8Complex · · Score: 0

    The snails could have suvived the millions of years needed to the continents to have split apart. It seems the most logical explanation to me... not hitching a ride with birds over 5,000 miles of ocean, that is for sure.

  21. Third Grade by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Jesus Christ, this summary reads like a 3rd grade book report from a kid who barely speaks English. Can you make some attempt to actually edit? I just burned 100 calories trying to read that. Taco -- is this the "informal" environment you're really looking to foster?

  22. Maybe they just walked. by Keith+McClary · · Score: 1

    Maybe they just walked across the seafloor.

    Or however you describe their locomotion - is there a word for that?

    1. Re:Maybe they just walked. by east+coast · · Score: 1

      Or however you describe their locomotion - is there a word for that?

      What? Slithering around in your own icker? The word I use for it is "gross".

      --
      Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.