Overview
In a new study, an international team of scientists says they have found an ancient hairy snail in a nearly 100-year-old amber. The snail has left researchers puzzled over the usefulness of its hairy shell.
The science and other stuff to know
A research team led by Jean-Michel Bichain of the Museum of Natural History and Ethnography in France has found an extinct snail species from the remains of a 99-year-old amber. The snail in question is named Archaeocyclotus brevivillosus, a tropical land snail from the Mesozoic era.
According to the findings published in the journal Cretaceous Research, the fossil snail is about 26.5 millimeters long, 21 millimeters wide, and 9 millimeters tall. It features short, bristly hairs arranged along its shell’s outer margin, which measures only 150 to 200 micrometers.
“It is not uncommon for the shells of fossil and present-day land snails to be embellished with ridges, hairs, nodules, or folds,” Adrienne Jochum from the Senckenberg Research Institute explains in a press release. “This is the sixth species of hairy-shelled Cyclophoridae, a group of tropical land snails found so far in Mesozoic amber. However, the development of such ‘decoration’ is still a complex process that usually doesn’t occur without a purpose.”
So what?
Some tropical land snails in modern times are known to have hairy shells during their evolution. Thus, according to Jochum, hairiness may have offered this ancient snail evolutionary advantages.
“For example, the hairs could have improved the animals’ ability to better cling to plant stalks or leaves,” she explains. “They may also have played a role in thermal regulation for the snail by allowing tiny water droplets to adhere to the shell, thereby serving as an ‘air conditioner.’ The bristles could also have served as camouflage or protected the snail against a direct attack by predators. And finally, it can’t be ruled out that the hairs provided an advantage in sexual selection.’
What’s next?
In addition to hairy snails, thousands of unique species have survived in Mesozoic amber, from delicate flowers to a feathered dinosaur tail. These discoveries offer insight into just how stunning the age of dinosaurs was in terms of biodiversity.
