Moon Snail

These guys are giants in the snail world - this one was probably just a bit smaller than a soccer ball!

comments (7)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

You have to be kidding me? I'm speechless such a thing exists. Posted 10 years ago
1. morpheme
  
  Lion
  
  lol - indeed they do and they are not uncommon on the beaches here. This was a pretty big one - the shell is probably 5.5 - 6 inches or so across, and the snail, fully extruded can be twice that size. Their egg cases are seen more readily than the actual snails, but they are fascinating in their own right. They make a "sand collar" that the eggs incubate in. It looks strangely like a plunger head made of sand. They look fragile, but if you pick one up they are quite stiff and sturdy - they feel almost like plastic. Photo of an egg collar - http://www.beachwatchers.wsu.edu/ezidweb/animals/Euspira3.htm Posted 10 years ago
2. 1. Ferdy Christant
    
    Lion
    
    Thanks for the extra info, that egg bag looks even weirder. I hope Claire catches this for her weird species list. Posted 10 years ago

Claire Hamilton

Lion

Good grief! What a whopper! Definitely going on the list, thank you! Posted 10 years ago
1. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  Thanks, was hoping for that! Posted 10 years ago

Oddfeel

Lion

huhuhuhu...nice catch Posted 10 years ago

morpheme

Lion

I showed this photo to the chef at the sushi bar last night and told him how big it is - he asked if I could bring him one :P…. apparently you can harvest and eat these guys, but they are not in season right now. Posted 10 years ago

The Lewis's moon snail

''Neverita lewisii'' , common name Lewis's moon snail, is a species of large operculated sea snail. It is a predatory marine gastropod in the family Naticidae, the moon snails. Traditionally, this species was assigned to either the genus ''Lunatia'', the genus ''Polinices'' or the genus ''Euspira''. Recently, it was assigned to the genus ''Neverita'' based on molecular data.

This is the largest species in the family.

Info 2 0

Similar species: Littorinimorpha

Species identified by morpheme