In its most recent update to the Red List of threatened species, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) identified deep-sea mining as the biggest threat to a critically endangered deep-sea snail.
Discovered in 2021, scientists named the mollusk Lirapex felix — the lucky lirapex — because of the luck it took to find the roughly 2.5 millimeter (0.1 inch) long sea snail. So far, only two individuals have been recorded in one location 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) south of Madagascar in the Longqi vent field on the Southwest Indian Ridge.
“Luckily, these two specimens gave us just enough information on its morphology and DNA so we could describe it comprehensively and give it a name,” Chong Chen, the scientist who first described the species, told Mongabay via email. “This likely means this species is naturally rare, making it especially vulnerable to anthropogenic impacts like deep-sea mining.”
The species was found in an area that overlaps with a 15-year exploration license for polymetallic sulfide mineral extraction. The license was issued by the International Seabed Authority to China and expires this year. If exploitation-phase mining goes ahead, sediment plumes could smother and kill vent communities, Chen said.
Even though little is known about the Lirapex felix, it was classified as critically endangered. By assigning the highest risk category the IUCN has taken a precautionary approach and recommends further research into mining impacts. It has also called for surveys to see if the species exists at other vent sites along the ridge.
In this most recent assessment, 17 vent-endemic species were added to the list of threatened species. The list now features all known hydrothermal vent mollusks: 201 in total. Of them,125 (62%) were found to be threatened with extinction from risks of deep-sea mining, and more than a third (37%) were assessed as endangered or critically endangered, Chen told Mongabay.
Miyoko Sakashita, oceans program director at the U.S.-based Center for Biological Diversity, told Mongabay that the research “confirms my biggest fear that deep-sea mining will drive an ocean extinction crisis.” Sakashita called for an immediate ban on deep-sea mining in the wake of the International Seabed Authority’s annual meeting in Kingston, Jamaica, over the next two weeks.
Chen called the meeting “a pivotal point for deciding the future of deep-sea mining.” Over the last decade research has found that recently discovered, undescribed, and unknown biodiversity in the deep-sea could be irreparably harmed by deep-sea mining.
“I hope all stakeholders will take a minute to think about the species that their future actions will make extinct, and feel that weight on their shoulders,” Chen said.
Banner image: Lirapex felix. Image by Chong Chen.
Credits
