''Alviniconcha'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of deep water

sea snail Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the ...

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

s in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Provannidae.Bouchet, P. (2013). Alviniconcha Okutani & Ohta, 1988. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=449922 on 2013-06-25 These snails are part of the fauna of the

hydrothermal vent A hydrothermal vent is a fissure on the seabed from which geothermally heated water discharges. They are commonly found near volcanically active places, areas where tectonic plates are moving apart at mid-ocean ridges, ocean basins, and hotspot ...

s in the Indian and Western Pacific Ocean. These and another genus and species within the same family ('' Ifremeria nautilei'') are the only known currently existing animals whose nutrition is derived from an endosymbiotic relationship with a member of bacteria from phylum

Campylobacterota Campylobacterota are a phylum of bacteria. All species of this phylum are Gram-negative. The Campylobacterota consist of few known genera, mainly the curved to spirilloid ''Wolinella'' spp., ''Helicobacter'' spp., and '' Campylobacter'' spp. Mos ...

(formerly Epsilonproteobacteria) occurs as an

endosymbiont An ''endosymbiont'' or ''endobiont'' is any organism that lives within the body or cells of another organism most often, though not always, in a mutualistic relationship. (The term endosymbiosis is from the Greek: ἔνδον ''endon'' "within" ...

of the gills of ''Alviniconcha hessleri''.Yohey Suzuki, Takenori Sasaki, Masae Suzuki, Yuichi Nogi, Tetsuya Miwa, Ken Takai, Kenneth H. Nealson & Koki Horikoshi (September 2005) "Novel Chemoautotrophic Endosymbiosis between a Member of the Epsilonproteobacteria and the Hydrothermal-Vent Gastropod ''Alviniconcha'' aff. ''hessleri'' (Gastropoda: Provannidae) from the Indian Ocean". ''

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ''Applied and Environmental Microbiology'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Society for Microbiology. It was established in 1953 as ''Applied Microbiology'' and obtained its current name in 1975. Articles old ...

'', 71(9): 5440-5450.

Description

The size of the shell varies between 25 mm and 35 mm. The surface of the shell is studded with hairs on the

periostracum The periostracum ( ) is a thin, organic coating (or "skin") that is the outermost layer of the shell of many shelled animals, including molluscs and brachiopods. Among molluscs, it is primarily seen in snails and clams, i.e. in gastropods and ...

, Individuals variation in shell size and the arrangement of the hairs, but the variation does not correspond to individual species.

Species

Until 2014, ''Alviniconcha'' consisted solely of the species ''Alviniconcha hessleri'', described in 1988. In 2014, increased recognition of genetic differences between populations resulted in the formal description of five

cryptic species In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

within the former ''A. hessleri'' that are morphologically indistinguishable from each other but that have consistent differences in

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...

sequences. Species within the genus ''Alviniconcha'' include: * ''Alviniconcha adamantis'' S.B. Johnson, Warén, Tunnicliffe, Van Dover, Wheat, Schultz & Vrijenhoek, 2014 * ''Alviniconcha boucheti'' S.B. Johnson, Warén, Tunnicliffe, Van Dover, Wheat, Schultz & Vrijenhoek, 2014 * ''Alviniconcha hessleri'' Okutani & Ohta, 1988 * ''Alviniconcha kojimai'' S.B. Johnson, Warén, Tunnicliffe, Van Dover, Wheat, Schultz & Vrijenhoek, 2014 * ''Alviniconcha marisindica'' Okutani, 2014 * ''Alviniconcha strummeri'' S.B. Johnson, Warén, Tunnicliffe, Van Dover, Wheat, Schultz & Vrijenhoek, 2014 (named after punk musician

Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

)A Snail So Hardcore It's Named After A Punk Rocker
at

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

; published December 20, 2014; retrieved March 18, 2015

References

* Healy, J.M. 1992, ''Dimorphic spermatozoa of the hydrothermal vent prosobranch Alviniconcha hessleri: systematic importance and comparison with other caenogastropods''; Bull. Mus. Natl. His. Nat. Paris 4 sér A 14: 273-291 * Desbruyères, D., M. Segonzac & M. Bright (eds.). 2006. ''Handbook of Deep-sea Hydrothermal Vent Fauna.'' Second Edition Denisia 18:1-544. (Copepods 316-355)(Polychaeta 183-296)

External links

* Provannidae {{Provannidae-stub