Discover 5 new species of sea snail

The group of Dr. Robert Vrijenhoek (Monteray Bay Aquarium) has discovered and described five new sea snail species in deep water from the western Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean.

Images of some newly discovered sea snail species

These snails are located in the genus Alviniconcha of the Provannidae family, deep sea animals that live in the most acidic and hot waters near hydrothermal vents.

Because the snails live in harsh conditions, the crust is degraded, with spines, sizes from 2.5 to 10cm.

Five new Alviniconcha species were collected during many expeditions (1993 -2008) in different areas from North Fiji, Lau, Manus and the Mariana basin and Central India.

The Sci-News page quoted Dr. Vrijenhoek as saying the collection was made with Rason II and Ropos remote control robots.

One of the snails, named Alviniconcha strummeri, Joe Strummer, the lead singer of the band The Clash. Alviniconcha strummeri lives at a depth of 1,850m in the southern basin of Lau and Tui Malila.

The other four new species are named Alviniconcha kojimai, A. boucheti, A. marisindica and A. adamantis.