 Theoretical work suggests that CoRoT-7b could be a chthonian planet (the remains of a Neptune-like planet from which much of the initial mass has been removed due to close proximity to its parent star).Other researchers dispute this, and conclude CoRoT-7b was always a rocky planet and not the eroded core of a gas or ice giant, due to the young age of the star system.Any departure from circularity of its orbit (due to the influence of host star and neighboring planets) could generate intense volcanic activity similar to that of Io, via tidal heating.