Snakes store sperm to hatch eggs months after mating: study

An Australian Researcher has discovered how female snakes store sperm after mating, sometimes for months, before using it to fertilize their eggs.

Luke Allen, who studies at Environmental Science at Charles Darwin University, examined the coastal taipan, Australia's longest venomous snake, and discovered it can store sperm for up to six months after mating.

Allen told the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) on Wednesday that snakes use special cells in their bodies that secrete sugars and proteins to keep the sperm alive. The sperm is kept in small pockets along a spongy tube that leads to the snakes ' ovaries.

"It had been known that they had this ability but we didn't know how or why," said Allen, who spent six years on the project.

The reason why snakes store sperm for such long periods was related to the food available, he said.

When conditions were good, the snakes could give birth to three clutches of eggs after a single mating spaced out over months.

However, when there was a food shortage, the snakes used the sperm all at once.