The Iron-Plated Snail

There is a snail that lives in extreme depths of the Indian Ocean that has iron plating. Iron plating! The black scaly-foot snail is covered with iron plates made of three layers, making the armor pliable and yet super strong. There is a top layer of iron sulfide, a lower layer of a calcified material, with a “thick, squishy organic layer in between” (“Absurd Creature of the Week,” Wired.com, Feb. 12, 2015). The creature thrives on the deep ocean floor by hydro-thermal vents that spew out 750-degree F, toxin-laden water. Among other things, the iron-plating is thought to deflect the tiny poison harpoons of predatory snails. Scientists believe that bacteria living on the snail help create the iron sulfides. Other bacteria live in a gland inside the snail and provide it with sustenance. “Its digestive system is practically nonexistent, but it does have a gland--which is 1,000 times bigger than in other snails--where the bacteria live and produce food. Like the kind of bacteria that builds the snail’s shell, this type takes the chemicals in the neighborhood and synthesizes them into grub for the snail” (Ibid.). Since the snail cannot live without the bacteria, I want evolutionists to explain how it lived while it waited millions of years for the right bacteria to evolve and join hands in this incredible symbiotic relationship. Everything about this and every other creature shouts “divine design” for those who have eyes to see.

(Friday Church News Notes, February 20, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

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