See-Through Snail Discovered

See-Through Snail Discovered

See-Through Snail Discovered

Scientists have discovered a brand new species of snail - and it's translucent.

Zospeum tholussum, a miniature snail with a fragile shell, was found in one of the deepest cave systems in the world, Lukina Jama-Trojama in Croatia, at an incredible depth of 980m.

The report in the journal Subterranean Biology, shows that only one living specimen was found, with the temperature in the cave running between 1 °C and 4 °C - so pretty chilly for the little fellows.

They possess a limited ability to move, but can achieve dispersal through hitching a ride on larger mammals, or by diving into the water and floating along.

For the time being though, we don't blame him for just keeping still and saving his warmth. We know his game - we can see right through him.

[via Science Daily]

(Image: Alexander M. Weigand, CC-By 3.0)

Marc Chacksfield
Content Director

As Content Director of Shortlist, Marc likes nothing more than to compile endless lists of an evening by candlelight. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.