Besides being hermaphrodites — all snails have both boy and girl parts — they stab each other with “love darts” as  a kind of foreplay.

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The sex life of the common snail is anything but ordinary.

First, they’re hermaphrodites, fitted with both male and female reproductive plumbing, and can mate with any member of their species they want.

Sounds easy, but the battle of the sexes is alive and well in gastropods.

In nature, fatherhood is easier. It’s the quickest, cheapest way to pass on your genes. Motherhood requires a much greater investment of time, energy, and resources.

During courtship, the…