Comprehension
Grove snails as a whole are distributed all over Europe, but a specific variety of the snail, with a distinctive white-lipped shell, is found exclusively in Ireland and in the Pyrenees mountains that lie on the border between France and Spain. The researchers sampled a total of 423 snail specimens from 36 sites distributed across Europe, with an emphasis on gathering large numbers of the white-lipped variety. When they sequenced genes from the mitochondrial DNA of each of these snails and used algorithms to analyze the genetic diversity between them, they found that. . . a distinct lineage (the snails with the white-lipped shells) was indeed endemic to the two very specific and distant places in question.
Explaining this is tricky. Previously, some had speculated that the strange distributions of creatures such as the white-lipped grove snails could be explained by convergent evolution—in which two populations evolve the same trait by coincidence—but the underlying genetic similarities between the two groups rules that out. Alternately, some scientists had suggested that the white-lipped variety had simply spread over the whole continent, then been wiped out everywhere besides Ireland and the Pyrenees, but the researchers say their sampling and subsequent DNA analysis eliminate that possibility too. “If the snails naturally colonized Ireland, you would expect to find some of the same genetic type in other areas of Europe, especially Britain. We just don’t find them,” Davidson, the lead author, said in a press statement.
Moreover, if they’d gradually spread across the continent, there would be some genetic variation within the white-lipped type, because evolution would introduce variety over the thousands of years it would have taken them to spread from the Pyrenees to Ireland. That variation doesn’t exist, at least in the genes sampled. This means that rather than the organism gradually expanding its range, large populations instead were somehow moved en mass to the other location within the space of a few dozen generations, ensuring a lack of genetic variety.
“There is a very clear pattern, which is difficult to explain except by involving humans,” Davidson said. Humans, after all, colonized Ireland roughly 9,000 years ago, and the oldest fossil evidence of grove snails in Ireland dates to roughly the same era. Additionally, there is archaeological evidence of early sea trade between the ancient peoples of Spain and Ireland via the Atlantic and even evidence that humans routinely ate these types of snails before the advent of agriculture, as their burnt shells have been found in Stone Age trash heaps.
The simplest explanation, then? Boats. These snails may have inadvertently traveled on the floor of the small, coast-hugging skiffs these early humans used for travel, or they may have been intentionally carried to Ireland by the seafarers as a food source. “The highways of the past were rivers and the ocean–as the river that flanks the Pyrenees was an ancient trade route to the Atlantic, what we’re actually seeing might be the long lasting legacy of snails that hitched a ride…as humans travelled from the South of France to Ireland 8,000 years ago,” Davidson said.
Explaining this is tricky. Previously, some had speculated that the strange distributions of creatures such as the white-lipped grove snails could be explained by convergent evolution—in which two populations evolve the same trait by coincidence—but the underlying genetic similarities between the two groups rules that out. Alternately, some scientists had suggested that the white-lipped variety had simply spread over the whole continent, then been wiped out everywhere besides Ireland and the Pyrenees, but the researchers say their sampling and subsequent DNA analysis eliminate that possibility too. “If the snails naturally colonized Ireland, you would expect to find some of the same genetic type in other areas of Europe, especially Britain. We just don’t find them,” Davidson, the lead author, said in a press statement.
Moreover, if they’d gradually spread across the continent, there would be some genetic variation within the white-lipped type, because evolution would introduce variety over the thousands of years it would have taken them to spread from the Pyrenees to Ireland. That variation doesn’t exist, at least in the genes sampled. This means that rather than the organism gradually expanding its range, large populations instead were somehow moved en mass to the other location within the space of a few dozen generations, ensuring a lack of genetic variety.
“There is a very clear pattern, which is difficult to explain except by involving humans,” Davidson said. Humans, after all, colonized Ireland roughly 9,000 years ago, and the oldest fossil evidence of grove snails in Ireland dates to roughly the same era. Additionally, there is archaeological evidence of early sea trade between the ancient peoples of Spain and Ireland via the Atlantic and even evidence that humans routinely ate these types of snails before the advent of agriculture, as their burnt shells have been found in Stone Age trash heaps.
The simplest explanation, then? Boats. These snails may have inadvertently traveled on the floor of the small, coast-hugging skiffs these early humans used for travel, or they may have been intentionally carried to Ireland by the seafarers as a food source. “The highways of the past were rivers and the ocean–as the river that flanks the Pyrenees was an ancient trade route to the Atlantic, what we’re actually seeing might be the long lasting legacy of snails that hitched a ride…as humans travelled from the South of France to Ireland 8,000 years ago,” Davidson said.
Question: 1
All of the following evidence supports the passage’s explanation of sea travel/trade EXCEPT:
All of the following evidence supports the passage’s explanation of sea travel/trade EXCEPT:
Updated On: Jul 29, 2025
- archaeological evidence of early sea trade between the ancient peoples of Spain and Ireland via the Atlantic Ocean.
- the oldest fossil evidence of white-lipped grove snails in Ireland dates back to roughly 9,000 years ago, the time when humans colonised Ireland.
- absence of genetic variation within the white-lipped grove snails of Ireland and the Pyrenees, whose genes were sampled.
- the coincidental existence of similar traits in the white-lipped grove snails of Ireland and the Pyrenees because of convergent evolution.
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The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
The question asks us to identify the option that does not support the explanation of sea travel/trade as provided in the passage.
The passage provides evidence supporting the sea travel/trade explanation, which includes:
The passage provides evidence supporting the sea travel/trade explanation, which includes:
- Archaeological evidence of early sea trade between ancient peoples of Spain and Ireland (via the Atlantic Ocean).
- The oldest fossil evidence of white-lipped grove snails in Ireland dates back to about 9,000 years ago, coinciding with human colonization of Ireland.
- An absence of genetic variation within the white-lipped grove snails of Ireland and the Pyrenees, suggesting mass movement, which would ensure this lack of variation.
- Archaeological evidence of early sea trade between the ancient peoples of Spain and Ireland via the Atlantic Ocean.
- The oldest fossil evidence of white-lipped grove snails in Ireland dates back to roughly 9,000 years ago, the time when humans colonised Ireland.
- Absence of genetic variation within the white-lipped grove snails of Ireland and the Pyrenees, whose genes were sampled.
- The coincidental existence of similar traits in the white-lipped grove snails of Ireland and the Pyrenees because of convergent evolution.
The coincidental existence of similar traits in the white-lipped grove snails of Ireland and the Pyrenees because of convergent evolution.
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Question: 2
In paragraph 4, the evidence that “humans routinely ate these types of snails before the advent of agriculture” can be used to conclude that:
In paragraph 4, the evidence that “humans routinely ate these types of snails before the advent of agriculture” can be used to conclude that:
Updated On: Jul 29, 2025
- 9,000 years ago, during the Stone Age, humans traveled from the South of France to Ireland via the Atlantic Ocean.
- white-lipped grove snails may have inadvertently traveled from the Pyrenees to Ireland on the floor of the small, coast-hugging skiffs that early seafarers used for travel.
- the seafarers who traveled from the Pyrenees to Ireland might have carried white-lipped grove snails with them as edibles.
rivers and oceans in the Stone Age facilitated trade in white-lipped grove snails.
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The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
In the given comprehension, the primary focus is on the distribution of white-lipped grove snails in two distant locations — Ireland and the Pyrenees — suggesting possible human involvement in their spread. The passage discusses how previous hypotheses, such as convergent evolution or natural spread, were dismissed due to genetic analysis showing no variation expected from a gradual spread. This implies that humans likely played a role in transporting the snails.
Evidence is provided that humans were present in Ireland 9,000 years ago, coinciding with the earliest fossil records of these snails. Moreover, prior to agriculture, humans consumed snails, inferred from burnt snail shells in Stone Age trash heaps. Therefore, the idea that seafarers may have carried these snails intentionally as food is logical. The references to early sea trade and the use of coast-hugging boats strengthen this hypothesis.
Considering this context, the evidence supporting "humans routinely ate these types of snails before the advent of agriculture" aligns with the conclusion that the "seafarers who traveled from the Pyrenees to Ireland might have carried white-lipped grove snails with them as edibles." Thus, among the options provided, this one best encapsulates the logical conclusion of human-mediated transportation of these snails.
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Question: 3
Which one of the following makes the author eliminate convergent evolution as a probable explanation for why white-lipped grove snails are found in Ireland and the Pyrenees?
Which one of the following makes the author eliminate convergent evolution as a probable explanation for why white-lipped grove snails are found in Ireland and the Pyrenees?
Updated On: Jul 29, 2025
- The absence of genetic similarities between white-lipped grove snails of Ireland and snails from other parts of Europe, especially Britain.
- The distinct lineage of white-lipped grove snails found specifically in Ireland and the Pyrenees.
- The absence of genetic variation between white-lipped grove snails of Ireland and the Pyrenees.
- The coincidental evolution of similar traits (white-lipped shell) in the grove snails of Ireland and the Pyrenees.
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The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
The correct answer to why the author eliminates convergent evolution as a probable explanation for the presence of white-lipped grove snails in Ireland and the Pyrenees is: The absence of genetic variation between white-lipped grove snails of Ireland and the Pyrenees. The provided comprehension details that convergent evolution, which entails different populations independently evolving similar traits, was ruled out because genetic analysis indicates underlying genetic similarities between the snails in both regions. This absence of genetic variation suggests they did not develop the white-lipped trait independently but rather share a common lineage, making convergent evolution an unlikely explanation.
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Question: 4
The passage outlines several hypotheses and evidence related to white-lipped grove snails to arrive at the most convincing explanation for:
The passage outlines several hypotheses and evidence related to white-lipped grove snails to arrive at the most convincing explanation for:
Updated On: Jul 29, 2025
- how the white-lipped variety of grove snails independently evolved in Ireland and the Pyrenees.
- how the white-lipped variety of grove snails might have migrated from the Pyrenees to Ireland.
why the white-lipped variety of grove snails are found only in Ireland and the Pyrenees.
- why the white-lipped variety of grove snails were wiped out everywhere except in Ireland and the Pyrenees.
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The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
The correct answer is (C):
We have to understand the question to arrive at the right answer. The question speaks about several hypotheses. On the basis of ‘several hypotheses’ and ‘the central idea of the passage’, we can shortlist two choices. The central idea is about why the white-lipped grove snails are found only in two places. The wiped out idea in option 4 is nowhere mentioned in the passage. So we can eliminate choice 4. Since there is no independent evolution of the two, we cannot choose option 1. We must not forget that convergent evolution and independent evolution are one and the same thing.
We are left with two choices only. The first is why the white-lipped grove snails are found only in these two places, and the second is how they might have migrated. The migration theory is a tempting choice, but there are not several hypotheses for this. There is only one hypothesis for the migration theory: the snails might have travelled on boats of seafarers, who might have carried them as eatables.
But there are several hypotheses, some rejected while some improbable, why the snails are found only in these two places. In fact, the whole passage seems to be discussing this idea only. Thus, choice 3 is the best answer.
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