The ‘scaly-foot gastropod’: a new genus and species of hydrothermal vent-endemic gastropod (Neomphalina: Peltospiridae) from the Indian Ocean.
![scaly foot snail scaly foot snail](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/3d/4c/e3/3d4ce33ba7339b198a13e3d7739019c2.jpg)
The International Seabed Authority (ISA) must implement firm guidelines in its regulation of mining activities to ensure that these iconic animals are not only found inhabiting museum collections. The Scaly-foot Snail, Chrysomallon squamiferum, presents a combination of biomineralised features, reminiscent of enigmatic early fossil taxa with complex shells and sclerites such as sachtids, but in a recently-diverged living species which even has iron-infused hard parts. Even exploratory mining could destroy a population of these snails by damaging vents or smothering them with sediment. Hydrothermal vent ecosystems are vulnerable. These scales can be covered in iron sulphide that also covers its shell making it the only living multicellular animal known to use iron sulphide as part of its skeleton. In order to protect itself from those animals that. The snail’s metal armor is composed of iron sulphides greigite and pyrite, and effectively act as a second shell. These scaly-foot gastropods (Chrysomallon squamiferum. Its shell is coated in iron, much like armor. Discovered living on the bases of black smokers at the Kairei hydrothermal vent field in 2001, scaly-foot gastropods reside only on hydrothermal vents in the Indian Ocean. The scaly-foot gastropod lives around water or deep sea environments and wasn’t discovered until 2001.
![scaly foot snail scaly foot snail](https://assets.wired.com/photos/w_1500/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/lead.jpg)
Unique among gastropods, Chrysomallon squamiferum has hundreds of dermal sclerites on its muscular foot. Snails may be best known for their achingly slow pace, but the scaly-foot snail is known for something elseits super powered magnetic shell.
![scaly foot snail scaly foot snail](https://worldtruth.tv/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/scaly-foot-gastropod-8.jpg)
We at the Australian Museum are proud custodians of two paratype specimens of this iconic species that were collected from 2785m.