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Meet Alviniconcha strummeri – the spike-haired snail named after a famous punk rocker.

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The Alviniconcha strummeri sea snail is covered in awesome spikes giving it the telltale appearance (you may need to squint your eyes a bit) of a classic spike-haired punk rocker. In fact, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute named it Alviniconcha strummeri after the famous Clash frontman, punk rocker Joe Strummer.

“Because they look like punk rockers in the 70s and 80s and have purple blood and live in such an extreme environment, we decided to name one new species after a punk rock icon.”

These golf ball-sized punk rock snails live thousands of feet underwater, crowded around the mouths of fiery-hot hydrothermal vents. Scientists believe the extreme heat from the thermal vents are what give the snail its typical severely damaged and spiked shell.

What makes this species so unique is its habitat. Alviniconcha Strummeri thrives in environments that would be inhospitable to most other creatures. The hydrothermal vents where it was discovered are characterized by high temperatures, toxic chemicals, and extreme pressure. These conditions make it difficult for most organisms to survive, but the snail seems perfectly adapted to its environment.

Scientists are interested in studying Alviniconcha Strummeri because it is believed to have evolved unique adaptations to survive in its harsh environment. The snail is an extremophile, a term used to describe organisms that thrive in extreme environments. Understanding how these creatures survive can potentially lead to new discoveries in medicine, biotechnology, and other fields.

The Alviniconcha is a genus of deep water sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Provannidae.

The shell of the Alviniconcha strummeri sea snail is often degraded and damaged by hydrothermal vents in the ocean
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