Snails’ entire bodies and lifestyles revolve around bacteria that grow inside their throats, which convert chemicals that flow out of their airways into energy
A golden snail with one leg “clad” in “iron” scales looks like a creature of science fiction. However, in some remote parts of the Indian Ocean, these snails are very real, as the “Guardian” newspaper writes.
“It looks like an armored knight crawling along the bottom of the sea,” says Julia Sigwart, a biologist at the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt and one of the only people to have seen this particular species of snail (Chrysomallon squamiferum).
The entire body and lifestyle of snails revolves around bacteria that grow inside their throats, which convert chemicals that flow out of their airways into energy.
To keep their microbes well-fed, these snails developed huge gills to absorb oxygen and chemicals from seawater and then transport them through their bloodstream.
In 2019, scientists found that the scales on the snails’ legs do not protect against predatory attacks, but instead ward off a toxic threat from within. Bacteria hidden in their throats release sulfur, which is fatal to snails.
This particular species of snail was the first in the world to be included in the endangered species list, but now there are many deep-sea molluscs that experts have evaluated and added to the global list.
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