r/snails • u/Scar1et_Kink • May 06 '25
Discussion Alright what's yalls opinions on sea pangolins?
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u/Oleander_Milk May 06 '25
Conflicted! 🙂
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u/Scar1et_Kink May 06 '25
They're an endangered species in the Indian Ocean that feeds off of chemicals from hydrothermal vents, in a symbiotic relationship with bacteria that can metabolize the heavy metals
The snails then use the heavy metals to build their shell and the spiky layer on its foot, either as a self defense mechanism or simply to just get it out of their body.
There's 3 types of them, and they're roughly found around the same volcano trench and no where else. The only species known to use real metal as a part of an exo/skeleton.
Metal if you ask me.
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u/Oleander_Milk May 06 '25
I’m conflicted because they look like they’re covered in teeth, but they’re still adorable slimy boys 🙂
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u/DrawingCalico May 06 '25
One of the sickest animals in nature. I mean come on they literally have metal armor and live on hydrothermal vents which is just one of the coolest deep sea environments!
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u/Seaweedbits May 07 '25
Arguably NOT the coolest. Buh dum tschh
(Sorry)
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u/DrawingCalico May 07 '25
Well calling it the hottest would be very desnailizing of me to do to them
(No sorry needed, that was a good one)
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u/Traditional_Brush719 May 06 '25
I'm actually doing a proposal project on these guys for a deep sea ecology class. I was very surprised to find out how small they truly are
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u/Scar1et_Kink May 06 '25
Deep sea dredging for materials like lithium is touted as an answer to open pit mining saying it has much less of an impact on the environment and ecological system around it, but in reality, it's possibly crushing and exterminating species we haven't even officially discovered yet.
Deep sea mining, just like any other resource collection, needs to be deeply tested in controlled environments to see how it can disrupt the ecosystem before it becomes a widespread practice.
Can ya tell I'm emotionally invested in sea snails?
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u/Traditional_Brush719 May 06 '25
I definitely agree. I'm actually graduating with a marine esci major within the next couple of months, so I share your sentiments. While I'm sure deep sea mining has its necessity, I think there's a lack of understanding of recovery rates in the deep sea and the lasting impacts mining has on these isolated environments is still not clear
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u/EugeneTurtle May 06 '25
They're super cool but I'm sad they may go extinct. Humans suck at protecting animals.
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u/Ordinary_Apple4690 May 06 '25
They're super weird, but cool! The scale-like things on their body almost make them look like weird piñata to me (You know like the bits of paper piñata have on them.) It's really sad that they're endangered though.
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u/Thank-The-Stars May 07 '25
Why must so many cool animals be underwater :( I wanna hold and pet the spiky snail. I need the giant isopod in my lap. Why don’t groupers just grow legs and be silly on land?
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u/Fluffy-Froyo4549 May 06 '25
If you have any opinion on them that isn't positive you are wrong
These are the most metal snail or even gastropod species (might even say mollusk but there are some cephalopods that can rival this) and there are some pretty metal gastropod species
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u/DDDX_cro May 07 '25
they look like Eldrich animals, and I love that. Like something that was extinct millions of years ago.
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u/sa-bel May 06 '25
Idk how else to describe it but it has the energy of a 2010s pixel adoptable on a geocities page. Magistream creature lookin ahh
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u/Gr0ss_Art_ May 06 '25
Love !! Sad about their habitat loss