Scaly-foot snail

phylum	Mollusca	The scaly-foot gastropod, Chrysomallon squamiferum, is a species of snail of deep-sea hydrothermal vents in the Indian Ocean at depths of 2,400-2,800 m (1.5-1.7 mi). The shell consists of three layers: the outermost has iron sulfides, the middle layer is the organic periostracum found in other gastropds, and the innermost layer is made of argonite. The sides of the foot are armored with iron-mineralised sclerites. Nourishment is obtained from symbiotic gammaproteobacteria housed in the oesophagel gland. The black and white snails are color varieties of the same species based on locality. For more information, visit the Wikipedia entry. Get back to Sea snail
class	Gastropoda
clade	Neomphalina
family	Peltospiridaae
genus	Chrysomallon
species	C. squamiferum

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