+34
This snail became the first animal living on deep-sea hydrothermal vents to be added to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species—it also turns poisonous sulfur into armor
This snail became the first animal living on deep-sea hydrothermal vents to be added to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species—it also turns poisonous sulfur into armorAlmost two miles beneath the waves of the Indian Ocean, a hydrothermal vent spews sulfur into the inky black waters.
On its lip, a small snail is not only basking in the poison but converting it into a shell that is part iron. This gastropod is the scaly-foot snail Red List of Threatened Species—thanks to the threat of deep-sea mining companies that have been interested in harvesting the minerals at For a long time, scientists presumed that the intense pressure and toxic compounds that erupt from Earth’s crust through hydrothermal vents would make these structures and the water around them incompatible with life. But in 2001 researchers found the snails living happily among a myriad of other creatures that thrive in these unforgiving environments.
The snails’ iron-rich shell is a vital part of their survival strategy—but not as a protective armor, says Chong Chen, a senior scientist at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology and a leading expert on the scaly-foot snail, who led the. Rather, the shell is almost like the human liver in that it helps remove toxins from the snails’ body, he explains..
By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.. This creature doesn’t eat in a conventional sense. Instead, like other species that live on hydrothermal vents, the snail is home to bacteria that feast on hydrogen sulfide, oxygen, and carbon dioxide and convert those chemicals into sugar. In exchange for providing the bacteria a home in its gut, the snail uses that sugar for energy.
The bacteria’s digestion produces toxic sulfur as a by-product, however. To protect itself, the snail excretes the sulfur, which mixes with iron in the vent water. The end result is a shell that’s literally, albeit partially, made of metal, along with the tough scales that give the snail its name.
“The ‘iron armor’ is not for defense, as people thought for many years; instead it is for symbiosis. The snail is totally happy without the iron armor, which is a by-product formed by the hot vent environment,” Chen says. The snail, which is less than two inches long, has already inspired some technological innovations.
The U.S. Army, for instance, has studied the snail’s scales forNot only is the snail the single animal known to incorporate iron sulfide into its shell, but it also has evolved to only exist on eight sulfur-rich hydrothermal vents in the world. The amount of space on Earth that can be inhabited by the snail is so small that it amounts to roughly half the size of Disney World, says Jon Copley, a marine biologist at the University of Southampton in England.
The very same environment in which the snail evolved its signature feature is also what has made its future uncertain. Underwater hydrothermal vents form at the edges of Earth’s tectonic plates, where seawater is able to trickle down through the crust. That water is heated by magma below and shoots back upward, bringing with it precious minerals such as copper, zinc and gold, along with the iron and sulfur found in the snail’s shell.
Those minerals have caught the attention of mining companies. Copper is particularly in demand because of its use in artificial intelligence data centers and green energy production. Although no deep-sea mining is yet underway in these areas, at least two of the vents that the snails live on have been considered for possible operations, according to the IUCN.
“There are rising concerns that if mining is permitted, the habitat could be severely reduced or destroyed,” the organization wrote in its. The best way to protect the vents—and the snails—is to “just not mine active hydrothermal vents, period,” Chen says. Instead mining companies could target inactive vents, he says.
“There are, for example, many inactive hydrothermal massive sulfide deposits in the Indian Ocean. These inactive vents no longer host the scaly-foot snail, and therefore mining these sites would not impact the snails,” Chen says. Still, such vents are no panacea, he adds.
“We currently know very little about how unique the inactive vents themselves are in terms of biodiversity,” Chen says. “Ongoing research has found at least some animal groups that seem to be unique to inactive vents, so mining there might impact those animals.
” Aside from the snail’s contributions to modern armor and material sciences, Copley says, there are philosophical reasons to preserve the future of a creature that lives in an environment as alien and inaccessible to humans as any ecosystem on our planet. Few people will ever see a scaly-foot gastropod, but that doesn’t change their preciousness. Chen is more pragmatic.
The snail by itself may not affect humans, but its native ecosystem, while remote, is proving to play a larger role than previously suspected in the overall health of the ocean. The vents pump carbon and other nutrients into the water, and those nutrients sustain the beauty humans admire and the food they eat.
“We are now starting to understand that hydrothermal vents play key roles in regulating the supply of such elements to the ocean and therefore contributing significantly to the global biogeochemical cycles that we all rely on,” Chen says. “The world is one connected planet, more than one might realize. We are now living in the consequences of deforestation’s impacts on the climate, which we did not realize when it began.
Mining hot spots like hydrothermal vents may lead to a similar impact. ”has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.
, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized. There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.
Scratch the next story
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
The Earliest Known Dentistry Wasn't Done By Our SpeciesThe Best in Science News and Amazing Breakthroughs
Read more »
Tourist accused of harassing endangered Hawaiian monk seal arrestedFederal agents have arrested a tourist for allegedly harassing an endangered Hawaiian monk seal on Maui. Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, from Washington state, is accused of throwing a coconut-sized rock at the seal named 'Lani.' A person who answered the phone at a number listed for Lytvynchuk declined to comment. U.S.
Read more »
Covington man charged with throwing rock at endangered monk seal in HawaiiSorenson added that those who harass or attempt to harm protected wildlife will be held accountable in federal court.
Read more »
NOAA rejects petition to list Gulf of Alaska king salmon under the Endangered Species ActHad the listing gone through, it could have affected fisheries and communities along the state’s sprawling southern coastline.
Read more »