Introduction:

Chrysomallon Squamiferum, also known as the "Scaly-Foot Gastropod" or "Sea-Pangolin," is a relatively large snail with some very metallic features. It gets its name from the hard, scale like structures on its ventral foot. It is found only in hydrothermal vent fields deep at the bottom of the Indian Ocean. It is the only species in its genus and the genus name Chrysomallon comes from Greek meaning "golden-haired" due to the pyrite in its composition. The species name, Squamiferum comes from Latin meaning "scale-bearing" for obvious reasons.

Morphology:

The Sea-Pangolin's shell is around 34 mm at adulthood, with some reaching up to 45.5 mm. The Scaly-Foot Gastropod owes its name to the hundreds of hard dermal sclerites that resemble scales on its foot. The organism's scales' color matches that of the shell, and are either black or a milky white color. The black coloration comes from a layer of iron sulfide covering the shell and sclerites, making the Scaly-Foot Gastropod the only metazoan organism to utilize iron in its skeleton. The white coloration is a rarer form found only at the Solitaire hydrothermal vent field that is due to an absence of iron sulfide. The iron sulfide is mixture of mostly pyrite with lower amounts of greigite, which actually makes the scales and shell ferromagnetic. The sclerites are typically 1 mm thick and 5 mm long, but can be up to 8 mm long. The iron sulfide layer is about 0.2 mm thick. The shell is usually made of three layers, with the iron sulfide layer on the outside, a calcareous layer reminiscent of other snails on the inside, and a soft, fleshy layer in between to absorb shock. The iron sulfide is thought to be created from the toxic emissions from the black-smoker chimneys where the snails make their home.

The scaly-Foot Gastropod is a simultaneous hermaphrodite with a reduced reproductive system, lacking copulatory organs and having the gonads located in the head-foot region. Due to its recent discovery and unique environment, its larval stages are fairly undocumented. It is believed, however, that they lay a large number of negatively buoyant eggs per clutch and that the larval stage is planktonic in dispersal.

Interestingly, the nervous system of C. Squamiferum shows a lack of any eyes or even remnants of any optic nerves.