Endemic hydrothermal vent molluscs are found at depths of up to 5,000 metres below sea level, around vents that can spew water over 450 degrees Celsius.
Notes on verification
Verbatim wording traces to a single IUCN press release, widely republished rather than independently corroborated. However, the underlying facts (deepest known vent fields ~5,000m; vent fluid temperatures reaching/exceeding 450C, e.g. Beebe/Piccard field) are supported by independent peer-reviewed geochemistry studies.
Sources
- IUCN Warns Seabed Mining Threatens Rare Molluscs | MarineBio (marinebio.org)
- https://iucn.org/press-release/202607/desert-frog-deep-sea-molluscs-remarkable-species-risk-iucn-red-list (iucn.org)
- https://www.senckenberg.de/en/press-releases/62-of-hydrothermal-vent-molluscs-now-threatened-by-deep-sea-mining/ (senckenberg.de)
- https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/living/2026/07/16/deep-sea-mining-menaces-molluscs-conservationists-warn-in-updated-039red-list039 (thestar.com.my)
- https://www.mining.com/deep-sea-mining-threatens-60-of-vent-species-iucn/ (mining.com)
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016703718300395 (sciencedirect.com)