It was a real win for the little guy in this year’s Mollusc of the Year competition, in which Cumia intertexta beat much bigger beasts to win public support – despite a lifestyle many consider unpalatable. Just three centimetres long, the plucky contender, known for its spiralling conical shell, makes its living in an unusual way for a snail, by attaching itself to fish and sucking their blood.
Secretive by daylight, and fond of shallow water, Cumia can often be found in rock pools and old shells litter popular holiday beaches. It’s commonly known as the Mediterranean vampire snail, and in traditional vampire style, it waits until darkness to leave its lair. Although its preferred prey is the parrot fish, it isn’t too picky. A long, tentacle-like extension with sharp teeth at the end enables it to latch onto them in the dark, but it’s not a brutal creature. It anaesthetises the fish so that they don’t notice its presence, and leaves them alive, improving its prospects for future feeding.
Clams, conches and more present tough competition
Winning the prize was no easy matter, as Cumia had to compete with four other fabulous molluscs selected by specialists and put up for a public vote. Ephippodonta lunata, an Australian clam of a similar size, is known for its distinctive wiggle and intimate relationship with Axius plectorhynchus, the slow shrimp. Lithoredo abatanica is a Filipino shipworm with a taste for limestone and a curious resemblance to a used condom. The spectacular looking Triplofusus giganteus, also called the giant horse conch, hangs out around the southern coast of the US and the Gulf of Mexico, growing up to half a metre long, with a vivid orange shell in youth which gradually gives way to a more sophisticated pale grey or salmon pink as it ages.
If that weren’t enough, our neogastropod hero had to compete with Filicaulis seychellensis, aka the Seychelles white slug, a deceptively modest little creature which nevertheless saw the people of its island home rally behind it upon nomination. Unusually for a mollusc, it’s a pollinator, heaving its soft body, which resembles a sugary sweet, up flower stems at night to feed on delicious nectar. It also glows in the dark.
Amazing medical potential dazzles judges
What special talents did Cumia bring into play to fend off competition like this? It may have lacked the glamour and the dance moves of some of the others, but it really stood out in the research round, thanks to its sensational potential to help science. This is in part because of the aforementioned anaesthetic, which appears to work differently from those currently in use by humans, and might give us a new medical tool. Even more exciting in this regard is an enzyme it produces which can raise the blood pressure of its prey. As far as Cumia is concerned, this makes drinking easier, but it could have lifesaving applications in human medicine if it can be replicated, in part because of the speed of its effect.
Alongside these remarkable gifts, Cumia has its own special anticoagulant, which could also prove useful in medicine. It also has several novel proteins whose function is unknown, so there could be quite a bit of excitement ahead for the specialists who will now be studying it.
“By sequencing the vampire snail’s genome, we will obtain the first genetic blueprint for blood feeding in molluscs,” said Dr. Carola Greve of the Natural History Museum of Frankfurt. “ Her colleague, Prof. Dr. Julia Sigwart, added “We are thrilled that mollusc enthusiasts from all over the world have once again participated in the contest this year! The selection of the Mollusc of the Year is a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness of this fascinating – and, sadly, often endangered – group of animals. Our goal is to gain a deeper understanding of these impressive creatures so that we can better protect them and preserve their diversity for future generations.”
Mediterranean vampire snail joins prestigious group
In accepting its prize, Cumia now swims alongside previous winners such as the deep sea octopus Muusoctopus, which lives in colonies off Costa Rica, basking in the warmth of hydrothermal vents; and Phuphania crossei, a Thai land snail whose distinctive green glow – which can be switched on and off like a flashlight – makes forests look magical by night.
The Mollusc of the Year contest is organised by the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research and global mollusc research society Unitas Malacologia. This was its sixth event.
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