Snottite
Snottite, also snoticle, is a
archaeon in the uncultivated 'G-plasma' clade of Thermoplasmatales (>15%) and a bacterium in the Acidimicrobiaceae family (>5%).[1]
The bacteria derive their energy from
battery acid.[2] Researchers at the University of Texas have suggested that this sulfuric acid may be a more significant cause of cave formation than the usual explanation offered of the carbonic acid formed from carbon dioxide dissolved in water.[3]
Snottites were brought to attention by researchers
Cueva de Villa Luz (Cave of the Lighted House), in Tabasco, Mexico. Snottites were first discovered in this cave by Jim Pisarowicz in 1986, who also coined the term.[4]
The BBC series life on Mars, it may be similarly primitive and hidden beneath the surface of the Red Planet.
See also
References
- PMID 21716305.
- ^ "BBC Two - Wonders of the Solar System, Original Series". BBC Online. 4 Apr 2010.
- ^ Derasa, "Caves and snoticles", Earth-pages, Wiley-Blackwell, 1 May 2004.
- ISBN 0684841916.
Additional sources
Hose L. D., Pisarowicz J. A. (1999) "Cueva de Villa Luz, Tabasco, Mexico: reconnaissance study of an active sulfur spring cave and ecosystem". J Cave Karst Studies; 61:13–21