I said I thought it was one of the most remarkable things I had ever seen. ‘Yes, indeed. Extremely curious,’ said Theodore, and then added a bomb-shell that took my breath away. ‘Once they are alongside, the … um … male half of one snail mates with the, um … female half of the other snail and … um, vice versa, as it were.’ It took me a moment or so to absorb this astonishing information. Was I correct in assuming, I inquired cautiously, that each snail was both male and female? ‘Um. Yes,’ said Theodore, ‘hermaphrodite.’
