0
>
>Now that i have made a complete fool of myself ( :-) ), lets get back "on
>track".
>         Has anybody done much work on the mollucs of deep-sea vents?  I
>know a half-dozen of the spp named
>so far, and they are all bivalves!  Have any gastropods, chitons,
>scaphopods, cephalopods,
>monoplacophora or aplacophora been found associated with these incredibly
>interesting
>chemically-driven ecosystems?   Has genetic work been done to try and
>determine how long these
>populations have been "isolated" from their more shallow-water
>counterparts?  Do some of the spp
>found in these communities also occur elsewhere (ie, what is the percentage
>of endemics??).  I am
>curious (no comments from the peanut gallery, proverbial or otherwise!!),
>and probably many other
>list members are also fascinated by this phenomenon, but never took the
>time to do much digging in
>the literature!!
>-Ross M.

Hi Ross,

yes, there are many different molluscs living near hydrothermal vents,
including gastropods.
You can find the whole list of vent-associated molluscs at:

http://www.lgs.jussieu.fr/~intridge/fauna/ventmoll.htm

As far as I know, there are not so many endemics as there should be.
How those organisms survive the migration through cold ocean water from one
vent to another is still mystery, I believe.


Later, Milan


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