Reproductive system of gastropods

The reproductive system of gastropods (slugs and snails) varies greatly from one group to another within this very large and diverse taxonomic class of animals. Their reproductive strategies also vary greatly.

In many marine gastropods, there are separate sexes (male and female); most terrestrial gastropods however are hermaphrodites.^{[citation needed]}

Courtship is a part of the behaviour of mating gastropods. In some families of pulmonate land snails, one unusual feature of the reproductive system and reproductive behavior is the creation and utilization of love darts, the throwing of which has been identified as a form of sexual selection.^[1]

Gastropods reproductive systems vary significantly from one taxonomic group to another. They can be separated into three categories: marine, freshwater, and land.^[2] Reproducing in marine or freshwater environments makes getting sperm to egg much easier for gastropods, while on land, it is much more difficult to get sperm to egg.^[3] The majority of gastropods have internal fertilization, but there are some prosobranch species that have external fertilization.^[4] Gastropods are capable of being either male or female, or hermaphrodites, and this makes their reproduction system stand out amongst many other invertebrates. Hermaphroditic gastropods possess both the egg and sperm gametes which gives them the opportunity to self-fertilize.^[4] C. obtusus is a snail species of the Eastern Alps. In the easternmost populations of this species, there is strong evidence for self-fertilization.^[5]