Life finds a way snail species with Iron scales living near hydrothermal vents

This is pretty cool, I enjoy this new feature from, the Guardian. Perhaps along with looking to the moon and Mars, we should focus some on the oceans. Yea I know we will need to bugout out at some point or go extinct but till then let's explore our planet as fully as possible too. Besides at some point, I believe humanity will have to live underwater for a number of potential reasons




www.theguardian.com...

A golden snail with a foot clad in iron scales seems like a creature from science fiction. But in a few remote spots of the Indian Ocean these snails are very real.

“It looks like an armoured knight crawling around on the deep-sea floor,” says Julia Sigwart, a biologist at Frankfurt’s Senckenberg Research Institute and one of the only people to have seen a living scaly-foot snail (Chrysomallon squamiferum), also known as a sea pangolin.

The snails’ habitat is extreme. They live several miles below the ocean surface on searing hydrothermal vents, which are bathed in toxic chemicals and can reach temperatures of more than 300C (572F).

a reply to: putnam6

Iron within, iron without.

Thats one badass snail man.

a reply to: putnam6

And in the UK we struggled with 40degree heat the other week, weak ass humans

It looks like this snail is cosplaying Game of Thrones.You have gotta love these species that defy what we believe possible.

Even though this is a find of planet Earth it certainly makes life being present elsewhere in the Universe more possible, Ok it might not be little grey aliens but at least snails dont use anal probes......

originally posted by: UpThenDown
a reply to: putnam6

And in the UK we struggled with 40degree heat the other week, weak ass humans

It looks like this snail is cosplaying Game of Thrones.You have gotta love these species that defy what we believe possible.

Even though this is a find of planet Earth it certainly makes life being present elsewhere in the Universe more possible, Ok it might not be little grey aliens but at least snails dont use anal probes......

Yes, it does probably make life elsewhere a bit more probable. The significant point here is that the snail lives ultimately entirely off the chemical energy present in the sulfidic fluids of the hydrothermal vents being consumed by the chemoautotrophic bacteria in its gut. No photosynthesis going on here at all.

Thats incredible, an amazing adapation!
I'd like to see the French try and eat one of those!!!!

One day, this snail may save us all from the Thanos lobster.

Can I eat it though?

Or game of thrones is cosplaying that mighty mollusc!

a reply to: UpThenDown

a reply to: putnam6

I had trouble beleiving this article.
For one thing , iron scales ? They don't rust , what ?
Another , they're " rare" but already have the name "sea pangolin " , and they're only found where " they " ( who's that? ) want to mine rare earths, at miles deep on particular volcanic vents ?
Miles deep ? What ? Are they going to do what down there , and how's that work ?

a reply to: IsabelleJones

there is more info in the linked article from OP

The internal structure of their scales acts as tiny exhaust pipes, drawing the dangerous sulphur away from the snails’ soft tissues and depositing it as a harmless iron-based compound on the outside.

Mining firms are after the gold, silver and other precious or rare metals deposited in the rocky walls of the black smoker chimneys.

That’s the coolest thing i’ve seen all year by far.

originally posted by: IsabelleJones
a reply to: putnam6

I had trouble beleiving this article.
For one thing , iron scales ? They don't rust , what ?
Another , they're " rare" but already have the name "sea pangolin " , and they're only found where " they " ( who's that? ) want to mine rare earths, at miles deep on particular volcanic vents ?
Miles deep ? What ? Are they going to do what down there , and how's that work ?

Well, I'm sorry you have trouble believing it, but most of your questions are addressed in the rest of the article.

But I got to ask why would the Guardian lie and post false info on a non-descrept snail the lives in an area smaller than St.Peters Sguare?

Makes no sense, this wouldn't drive significant sales totals for the Guardian, nor is a wide-ranging discovery ie not much prestige attached,

So what's the benefit of posting a false story, a story that we found only semi-interesting? While no doubt there are a few marine biologists who would know if this were BS or not.

It seems the Smithsonianmag is in on the ruse too, this conspiracy is deeper than even you suspected.

www.smithsonianmag.com...

as well as a host of other scientific and new sites, I guess they all could be wrong as well

a reply to: putnam6

Well this snail is apparently " commonly known " as a sea pangolin ,
DESPITE
Coming from a TINY AREA
THREE KILOMeTERS DOWN under the INDIAN Ocean
On a VOLCANIC VENT

But they're COMMONLY KNOWN , apparently .

Like we human come across them , EVERYDAY .

They're just sea pangolin , common you know.

Your list of links makes one ALL THE MORE suspicious.
Especially when they're talking about destroying them to exploit a lot of resources in , let's say , international waters.

You know exploitation in international waters, where's that got us all so far ?

These articles are for idiots so they can say , ah well sea pangolin , very interesting .
Busting up volcanic vents they are ( not the snails )
, where ever they feel like it.

Well thats fine , they're commonly known !?

Exploitative away why don't you ( whoever you are )
And where ever you Damn Well feel like it.
Carry on , be our guests.
We re just unquestioning fools that eat tripe at every serving . Smdh.

a reply to: putnam6

a Iron clad defense mechanism. hard to beat.