Vent chimney |
Silurian age fossils discovered at the Yaman Kasy VMS deposit in the Urals can be identified as tube worms, polychaete that seem to be analogous to modern day fauna. |
Tube worm |
The fossil record from the site also shows brachiopods and monoplacophorans at the site. Neither of these species is found at modern vent sites. |
Squaushed tube worm |
Vent fauna are well adapted creatures to their environments meaning that further major evolution in a vent area could be limited to unknown families of species modifying themselves to live in the vent |
Squashed worm |
enviroment.
The total population of hydrothermal vents is relatively small when compared to the population of earth’s fauna this would mean less mutations events. |
Posssible polychaete |
This lower would be somewhat compensated for by the toxic nature of the environment which would encourage a higher mutation rate. |
Monoplacopheran |
Sources used: BRIDGE, Natural History Museum |
Brachiopod |
Photos Courtesy of Natural History Museum |