Mollusc · gastropod

Scaly-foot gastropod

Chrysomallon squamiferum

PacificAtlanticIndianSouthernArctic A single ocean

Depth

Between about 2,400 and 2,900 m, on hydrothermal vents

Size

Shell up to 4.5 cm wide

Diet

Fed by bacteria living in a gland of its esophagus

Zone

The sea floor · 200 – 3,500 m

Key facts

• It is the only known animal that makes iron armor. Hundreds of iron sulfide scales cover its foot.
• It lives only in the Indian Ocean, on three hot vent fields: Kairei, Solitaire and Longqi.
• Its heart takes up about 4% of its body, a record among animals.
• In 2019, it became the first animal listed as “endangered” because of deep-sea mining projects.

Verified sources

1. Smithsonian Ocean, Scaly-foot snail
2. Chen et al. 2015, The heart of a dragon (Frontiers in Zoology)
3. Sigwart et al. 2019, Nature Ecology & Evolution

In the game: To observe

In the same zone

Indian Ocean vent shrimpRimicaris kairei Java giant isopodBathynomus raksasa Seafarer’s ghost sharkChimaera willwatchi Coral Seamount blue sea cucumberPannychia taylorae Giant abyssal anemoneRelicanthus daphneae Snow crabChionoecetes opilio