Scaly-foot gastropod [Brusinia brusina]
Description
The scaly-foot gastropod is a species of deep-sea hydrothermal vent snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Peltospiridae. This species is known from hydrothermal vents in the Indian Ocean and has a unique dermal sclerites covering over its foot, which is mineralised with iron sulfides. This species is the only known animal that incorporates iron into its exoskeleton, a feature that makes it one of the most peculiar creatures in the sea.
Taxonomy
| Phylum |
Arthropods
Arthropoda
|
|---|---|
| Class |
Crustaceans
Malacostraca
|
| Order |
Isopods
Isopoda
|
| Family |
Parasitic Isopods
Bopyridae
|
| Genus |
Brusinia
Brusinia
|