Talk about partnerships created from difficult environments! Read on...
Iron + bacteria + snail = survivor.
Wired Magazine called this a Badass Snail, Metal as Hell! It lives where not many other creatures can - by ocean hydrothermal vents where magma oozes up and makes the water 720 degrees in places. Guess what this Chrysomallon squamiferum has done, it has partnered with bacteria to not only convert its poisonous environment into a resource, but it has also made itself iron armor! Correct, its shell is made from iron sulfide. It is literally magnetic.
The scaly foot snail AKA sea pangolin is now on the IUCN Red List as endangered. It could become extinct if deep sea mining for valuable ore happens in its home.
I could leave this with a "We can learn about how to survive from it and its remarkable partnerships." "Let's not mess this up." message.
But we've heard that so many times...
#seapangolin #scalyfootsnail #metalshell #poshtide