THE SNAIL THAT LOOKS LIKE A KNIGHT
Magma flows into the ocean at hydrothermal vents. The water here is hot enough to boil, but a few intrepid creatures have decided to call it home. In the Indian Ocean, one of these residents is the scaly-foot gastropod, also known as the sea pangolin. It looks like the snail version of a Medieval knight. Its entire body is covered in scales that are made from iron from the centre of the Earth. But the existence of these unusual creatures is under threat. Their volcanic homes are rich in the same minerals we use to make batteries, so many companies want to mine them for profit. Concerned about the impact this might have, scientists Julia Sigwart and Chong Chen approached the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for help. These deep-sea knights are now listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.