GEEB Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 Armor-Plated Snail Discovered in Deep Sea John Pickrell for National Geographic News November 7, 2003 Researchers have found perhaps the world's most unusual snail. The as-yet-unnamed creature bears a mass of interlocking, iron-based plates on its body and the base of its foot. Like a suit of medieval armor, the snail may use its metal scales as a defense against predatory attack. As gardeners already know, all other slugs and snails (or gastropod mollusks, to the experts) sport a soft and slimy foot. The new snail, described in the current edition of the journal Science, was discovered in the hostile hydrothermal vent environment of the deep Indian Ocean. "Strange Little Beast" Anders Waren, a biologist at the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm and the lead researcher behind the find, said this "very strange little beast" is the first animal discovered that uses iron sulfides for a structural purpose. Waren said that when he first examined the sea snail, the animal's magnetized scales kept sticking to his forceps. He guessed that an iron mineral was involved. While unique to modern animals today, the snail's scales bear a remarkable resemblance to scales found on many of the earliest complex animals, particularly those from the Cambrian Period 540 to 500 million years ago. Genetic and anatomical tests, however, reveal that the new species is related to other common groups of modern snails. The snail's scales are comprised of two iron sulfide minerals: pyrite, more commonly known as fools gold, and greigite. Waren said that the general instability of sulfides explains their rarity as a biological building material. However, he noted: "That may not be the case at such depths." Iron and sulfur compounds are abundant in the mineral-rich waters of hydrothermal vent ecosystems. Cindy Van Dover, a marine biologist at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, and study co-author, was on the team that found the snail during an expedition to Indian Ocean's Kairei hydrothermal vent field in 2001. Expedition researchers used a remotely operated submarine to explore the 1.6-mile-deep (2.5-kilometer-deep), black vent environment and collect samples for analysis. The researchers found many species new to science, but "this is certainly the strangest so far," said Waren. Black Smokers The armor-plated species was found at the base of geyser-like underwater mineral chimneys known as black smokers. The structures explosively belch forth super-heated, 750° Fahrenheit (400° Celsius) black water previously trapped in molten rock below the Earth's surface. The water is prevented from boiling due to the enormous pressure (250 times greater than that on land) found at those depths. Cooler water near the chimneys carries many of the minerals that account for the flows' black color, including the constituents of those minerals found in the snails' armor plating. "Hydrothermal vents support a unique…fauna that's giving us exciting insights into evolution, adaptation, and the early history of life on Earth," said Callum Roberts, a mollusk expert at the University of York, England. "These vents represent an outstandingly rich natural ecosystem that we should cherish and protect as vigorously as any of our national parks on land," he added. Mary Seddon, a World Conservation Union (IUCN) mollusk specialist and biodiversity scientist at the National Museums and Galleries of Wales in Cardiff, said: "It's only been with the [recent] advent of remotely operated vehicles that we've been able to sample these [secluded] habitats." Such habitats are turning up some highly unusual creatures exquisitely adapted to living in harsh conditions, she said. The researchers suspect that the snail's armor plating could be a defense against other predatory snails that co-exist in the vent community. Warren, the study leader, said the scales look like they would effectively block the specialized teeth predator snails use to inject venom. As Roberts noted: "This is yet another extraordinary beast from a remarkable habitat." Link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CACashRefund Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 Thats badass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest imported_El Mamerro Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 Absolutely fucking awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrChupacabra Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 deep sea creatures never cease to amaze me. the best part is they just keep finding things that are more and more awesome as they explore deeper areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRON KING Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 some of that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF1 Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 How the fuck does it grow steel!?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tough Love Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunm Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 it won't be long before some ethnic group start claiming them to be a cure for impotency or an aphrodisiac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
useurname Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 I wish I was that snail then I could be as slow as I wanted to and nobody could fuck with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TURBOCAPSLOK Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 HAHA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TURBOCAPSLOK Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 I WAS LAUGHING AT LENS' COMMENT. AND WHAT A FUCKING RAD SNAIL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEEB Posted May 13, 2005 Author Share Posted May 13, 2005 Originally posted by Tough Love@May 12 2005, 07:03 PM pics? Quoted post Ive only been able to find one picture so far, ill keep looking though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emergin_graffer Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 simply amazing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InnerCityRebel Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 that is madness.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manifesto Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 Originally posted by SF1@May 12 2005, 09:02 PM How the fuck does it grow steel!?!? Quoted post it doesnt grow the steel, it gathers from those geysers under water and builds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaolinmasta Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 Originally posted by CACashRefund@May 13 2005, 11:26 AM Thats badass. Quoted post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fermentor666 Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 Very cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CinchedWaist Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 it looks beautiful i'm a big fan of mollusks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caffeine Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 Amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF1 Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 Originally posted by Manifesto+May 13 2005, 03:03 AM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Manifesto - May 13 2005, 03:03 AM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-SF1@May 12 2005, 09:02 PM How the fuck does it grow steel!?!? Quoted post it doesnt grow the steel, it gathers from those geysers under water and builds Quoted post [/b] Gangsta! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteOx Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 i want to see a photo of the fools' gold plated variety fucking awesome, i want one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiLL Or DiE Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 Thats fuken krazy..Thats one out of Thousands of Species(sp) that we still dont know bout..Nice.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteOx Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAL Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 You little metal motherfucker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopeizm Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 wolverine snail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamAlmighty Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 I'magetmesomeo'that! Let's see some Parisian chef try it with em now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
master bait Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 COOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alcohol swab Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 i want one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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