Scientists from St. Petersburg have counted all the snails in the Arctic

Microbes gastropods are snails measuring less than five millimeters. They represent one of the

least studied groups of metazoan livingorganisms in the oceans. Researchers from St. Petersburg University have summarized all currently known information about the species composition and lifestyle of these animals in the eastern part of the Arctic.

They found that the region was home to at least 66species of microbial gastropods belonging to four subclasses. Two species have already been described in recent studies. In addition, descriptions of two more types are being prepared for publication. The researchers also described important details of the internal structure and sequence of genes traditionally used in animal classification.

In the USA they will create digital copies of all existing ships

According to Ivan Nekhaev, biologicalthe diversity of the Arctic has been studied extremely unevenly. There is a relatively large amount of data on large animals that are easy to see. However, they have little information about micromolluscs. Scientists need this information in order to understand the nature of the Arctic and how it develops. The researchers are now focusing on how the fauna formed and how ecosystems respond to climate change associated with human activities.

Arctic molluscs regularly becomecentral figures in publications on climate change. For example, scientists have found that snails living in more southern regions are found in northern territories. However, the researchers do not have a sufficient scientific base to understand the reasons for the migration - the researchers do not have comprehensive data on the types of micromollusks.

See also:

- Look at the huge “wall” of hundreds of thousands of galaxies behind the Milky Way

- Comet NEOWISE is visible in Russia. Where to see her, where to look and how to take a photo

- NASA and ESA publish the most detailed image of the Sun