A professor at NTNU in Trondheim has for the first time found a “zombie snail” – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio

One antenna pulses back and forth, because it wants to make itself attractive. This amber snail stands out from other snails. Professor Torbjørn Ekrem has caught the “zombie snail” and put it in alcohol. Photo: Mathias Kartveit Mikalsen / news – There was something jarring Professor at the NTNU Science Museum, Torbjørn Ekrem, was out with a colleague on other field work when they suddenly spotted the special snail. At first, Ekrem and his colleague thought it was an insect larva, but when they got closer, something rustled. – It looks terribly strange, he says. Namely, it was not an insect larva, but an amber snail infected by a parasite; an unknown. – It did a good job of imitating an insect larva, explains Ekrem. The parasite crawls out of the antennal horn of the snail, imitating an insect larva. Photo: Elisabeth Stur Attractive meal The parasite manipulates the snail to imitate an insect larva. It is ready to move on in its life cycle and therefore the parasite wants to be eaten by its next host – the bird. – The parasite manipulates the snail to stand and make itself visible to birds, explains Ekrem. In this way, it hopes to become an attractive meal for the bird, which is the next host in the life cycle. Torbjørn Ekrem will examine both the snail and the parasite more closely. Photo: Mathias Kartveit Mikalsen / news Observed only ten times previously The phenomenon is unusual, and only ten discoveries have been made previously in Norway. – It’s the first time I’ve seen this, and I’ve been out in the field a lot; both in Norway and in other countries, says Ekrem. Now, however, he believes that others can also see parasite-infected snails out for a walk in the meadow. No danger to humans But if you get catastrophic thoughts about a “zombie snail” apocalypse, you can relax completely. – There is no danger here, reassures Ekrem. If you were to get hurt eating the snail, the parasite will not survive in a human body anyway. – It is specially adapted to life as a bird and a snail. If you discover something like that, the call from Ekrem is to sit down to observe and let yourself be fascinated. Published 06.07.2024, at 22.01



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