Geneticists have used snail trails to uncover evidence of an ancient human migration from the Pyrenean region of France to Ireland. Dr. Angus Davison and Adele Grindson from the University of Nottingham found that snails in Ireland we identical to snails in the Pyrenees, genetically, even though they were thousands of miles apart from each other. Geneticists used mitochondrial phylogenies instead of using just similar shells to find the connection. The simplest explanation for this is snails hitched a ride with humans approximately 8,00 years ago since they are the fastest animal out there. There are records of Stone Age humans using snails are a source of food and actually farming snails so this may also be help the theory of snails hitching a ride with humans. The results tied in with what we know from human genetics about human colonization in Ireland.
I believe these findings may seem small but they can help scientists with many other important findings in human colonization and tracing back where humans have evolved from. I also find it interesting that this all happen thousands of years ago and we can trace it all back now.
Snails are one of the last animals that I would think of when I hear about migration. It's amazing that their remains have lasted long and well enough to show us this information.
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