November 7, 2003
Scientists have discovered a unique snail that has metal-plated armor on its body and on the underside of its foot. This strange creature lives in the Indian Ocean near the Kairei hydrothermal vent.
Researchers found the new snail species at the base of black smokers, or underwater mineral 'geysers'. Black smokers eject high-temperature, dark water—water that was once trapped in molten rock beneath the Earth's crust. Because water pressure is very high at the depths at which these vents occur, the super-heated water does not boil. Cooler currents near black geysers are rich in minerals, and provide the iron sulfide compounds that the snails use in their metallic scales.
Though further study remains to be done, scientists suspect that the armor plating of this snail provides protection from predators. Scientists were able to identify the two compounds used in the scales as pyrite and greigite. These compounds, not usually seen in animals because they are in general unstable compounds, may be more stable at the increased pressures found deep in the ocean.
The newly-found snail has yet to be named and classified but preliminary investigation has shown that though its scales are reminiscent of similar animals of the Cabrian period (450 to 500 million years ago), it appears to be more closely related to modern-day snails and other gastropods who have a soft, slimy and unarmed foot.
Sources
- Molluscan Life Habitat Database (NMITA)
- Armor-Plated Snail Discovered in Deep Sea (National Geographic)
