Thursday, September 15, 2005

A Deep-Sea Snail With Iron Armor

A small but definitely interesting new discovery is a species of snail found in a hydrothermal vent colony deep beneath the Indian Ocean. The yet-unnamed species uses the iron-rich compounds available at its home vent colony to produce scales made of pyrite (fool's gold) and another iron sulfide mineral, greigite, which cover its soft foot.

See: Snail Armor

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