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Snot-tites!


What are these globs of slime oozing oozing

exudation of fluid.
 in a cave? Stalactites Stal`ac`ti´tes   

n. 1. A stalactite.
, rock formations that hang from cave ceilings like icicles? Guess again. They're "snot-tites" (that's what scientist dub them)--living formations of bacteria.

The microbes may be unique to a cave called the Cueva de Villa Luz Cueva de Villa Luz (Cave of the Lighted House) is a cave near Tapijulapa in the southern Mexican state of Tabasco. Its thermal sulphur springs produce a rotten-egg smell, and bacteria thrive on the resulting hydrogen sulfide gas.  in southern Mexico. Poisonous hydrogen sulfide fumes fumes

odorous gases and other volatile materials; inhalation of irritating fumes causes coughing and, if sufficiently severe, irreversible pulmonary edema.
 infiltrate the cave, possibly from a nearby oil field or volcano.

Donning breathing masks for protection against the fumes, a team of scientists trudged through mud and waist-high water deep inside the cave. There they stumbled on a dark, damp world teeming teem 1  
v. teemed, teem·ing, teems

v.intr.
1. To be full of things; abound or swarm: A drop of water teems with microorganisms.

2.
 with life--bats, spiders, fish, crickets, and the bizarre microbial microbial

pertaining to or emanating from a microbe.


microbial digestion
the breakdown of organic material, especially feedstuffs, by microbial organisms.
 goo.

The life forms in Villa Luz haven't only adapted to the sulfur--they depend on it for survival. The cave's fish and insects devour the snottites, which derive energy from sulfur (much like common plants using sunlight for fuel).

Snot-tites may be living proof of a relatively new theory on how some caves formed. Most caves form when carbonic acid (rainwater mixed with carbon dioxide) dissolves limestone and carves hollow spaces in rock. In the case of Villa Luz, snot-tites drip sulfuric acid, a much stronger rock eater than carbonic acid.

"What we're seeing is a process where life is generating an acid that eats through the rock and helps to form this cave," says Louise Hose, a speleologist (cave scientist) who led the expedition. "What we see here is life creating a habitat for itself!"
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Article Details
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Title Annotation:bacteria formations
Author:Rivera, Rachel
Publication:Science World
Article Type:Brief Article
Date:Sep 7, 1998
Words:241
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