The first species at risk of infection of extinction due to deep - sea minelaying has now been added to theIUCNRed List of Threatened and Endangered Species . The scaly - groundwork snail – knight the “ sea scaly anteater ” for its endangered position and scaled appearance – is more incredible than its usual name suggests .
The wight host a shell made of iron and life around hydrothermal vents in the dark depth of the Indian Ocean , where scorch red-hot water escapes from the sea storey . Its iron tag end are layer like plate armour , possibly protecting it from the harpoon - like tooth and puncture - sharp claws of marauder , according to theNational Science Foundation . Beneath all the armor , it has a large heart and soul , in part to keep the symbiotic bacteria within its eubstance alive that in bit feeds its consistency ( yes , we know , this sounds like a snail version ofGame of Thrones ) .
TheIUCNlisted it as endangered on July 18 , calling it a " notable introduction " that ’s " from three locations restricted to hydrothermal vents on recondite - sea ridges in the Indian Ocean , at depths of up to 2,900 metres . "
Two of those three vents have dynamic mining geographic expedition licence , the intent of which is to scour the deep ocean for fuzz , cobalt , and rare worldly concern alloy . Mining corporations fence that the cause is necessary , with need for cop , atomic number 13 , and other such metallic element skyrocketing due to our increasingly join , technical lives and smartphone economic consumption .
However , this may also be at the cost of some of the rarest and most peculiar inscrutable - ocean tool on Earth . explorative excavation can damage vents and create sediment clouds that muffle the creatures , said Chong Chen , a thick - sea life scientist to Nature in acommentary .
" It is crucial we are aware of the immediacy and possible impacts of inscrutable - sea mining,“saidDr Julia Sigwart of Queen ’s University Belfast and study author of the paper publish inNature Ecology & Evolution .
" This Red List designation for these species will enable appropriate external security for the most vulnerable of creatures . "
Researchers have been penetrative to study the creatures , including scientists at MIT face into its shell social structure for inhalation into first - answerer armour . " The thick sea is abode to thousands of mintage and novel species are being discovered all the time , " total Sigwart .
" These deep - sea marine animal like the scaly - foot escargot are out of mass , out of mind , but they are still threatened by human activities . "
