Scientists discovered a new snail species in one of the world's deepest Croatian caves. The snail has a beautifully shaped dome-like translucent shell.
The new species, Zospeum tholussum, was discovered in Lukina Jama-Trojama in Croatia, counted as one of the 20 deepest caves of the world. The discovery was made by biologists from the Croatian Biospeleological Society and Goethe University.
Taxonomist Alexander Weigand at Goethe-University in Frankfurt, Germany, helped identify the snail and confirmed that it is a species that has not been discovered before though it is related to other known species. According to scientists, Zospeum tholussum belong to the same genus as that of minute-air breathing land snails that have lost visual orientation and are considered to be exclusive cave-dwellers.
The team collected all animal specimens found along the way, since deep cave crevices are often promising places to find new species, and came upon one live sample of the new snail, along with eight empty shells. The snail has a beautifully shaped dome-like translucent shell and lives in complete darkness, according to the scientists. A fascinating characteristic of the snail is that it creeps only a few millimeters ever week.
"They only creep a few millimeters or centimeters a week, and mainly in circles, grazing at one point where they live," Weigand said, according to IB Times.
Only one living specimen was discovered more than 3,000 feet underground in the cave. The cave was filled with rocks and sand and had a small stream flowing through it.
"The single living specimen was found in an unnamed large chamber with lots of stones, rocks and sand," Weigand wrote. "Shells were observed beginning from 800 meters depth till the bottom of the cave."
The Lukina Jama-Trojama is the deepest cave system in Croatia and is known for its great depth of minus 1,392 meters, vertical shape and long pits.
