No, it’s not a painting. Although it resembles one. It is a tiny three millimeter snail. It is unknown to science and originally from Southeast Asia. He has just received his scientific denomination in honor of Cubist teacher Pablo Picasso. Here we present the new Picasso Cubist snail
Unlike most snails, Anauchen Picasso has spirals of rectangular angles. And this, according to its discoverers, give it the appearance of a cubist interpretation of other snails with ‘normal’ shell forms.
Teeth to defend themselves
The research team is directed by the doctoral student from the University of Belgrade Vukasin Gojsina. He is supported by his Hungarian supervisor, Barna Páll-Gergely. They have just published a 300 -page article that includes the description of 46 new species of microcololes. They are regions compe Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. The findings are published in the Zookeys magazine.
Although the size of the shell of these snails is less than 5 mm, it exhibits an extraordinary complexity, ”they affirm. For example, the shell opening is provided with numerous barriers similar to teeth. They are probably useful against predators. In addition, several of the new species have an opening that rotates up or down. What this means is that some species carry the shell face down.
The new Cubist snail Picasso had notable peculiarities. The researchers noticed these opening barriers and the orientation of the last verticil of the shell. They were some of the main characteristics that helped researchers distinguish different snails.
DEPREDATION
It is true that many of these new species were recently collected. But several, unknown to science until now, were found in the collection of the Florida Natural History Museum. They were collected during the 1980s. It is likely (and in some cases, sure) that the places where these snails have already been destroyed by deforestation. Also for the exploitation of limestone quarries. These constitute the main threats for local endemic land snails in Southeast Asia.
