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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."

11 of 48 comments (clear)

  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 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.
  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
  3. now i know by middlemen · · Score: 4, Funny

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

  4. 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
  5. 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?
  6. 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 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.
  7. 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!"
  8. 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.