Lewis's moon snail

Neverita lewisii

''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.
Moon Snail These guys are giants in the snail world - this one was probably just a bit smaller than a soccer ball!  Geotagged,Lunatia lewisii,Neverita lewisii,Summer,United States

Appearance

The shell of this species can grow to 14 centimetres across, the largest of the moon snails. It has an extremely large foot, which when the snail is active, is extended up over the shell and mantle cavity. Part of the propodium contains a black-tipped siphon which leads water into the mantle cavity. The cephalic tentacles, located on its head, are usually visible above the propodium.

When the animal retracts its soft parts into the shell, a lot of water is expelled, thus it is possible to close the shell with its tight-fitting operculum.
A Moonsnail Collar With What Could Be The Parents! At low tide the sandy beach at Manson’s Spit  was strewn with the whole or partial “collars” composed of sand, mucous and fertilized eggs. The adults were going about their business semi submerged in the sand locating something to eat.  
https://www.centralcoastbiodiversity.org/lewiss-moonsnail-bull-euspira-lewisii.html
 Canada,Geotagged,Lewis's moon snail,Neverita lewisii

Distribution

''Neverita lewisii'' lives in the Eastern Pacific, from British Columbia to northern Baja California, Mexico.

Habitat

This snail is found intertidally and at depths of up to 180 metres , usually ploughing through the substrate looking for prey.

Reproduction

Like other moon snails, this species lays its eggs in a "sand collar". The eggs may number in the thousands and hatch into microscopic larvae which feed on plankton until they undergo torsion and metamorphose the adult stage.

Food

''Neverita lewisii'' feeds mainly on bivalve molluscs by drilling a hole in the shell with its radula and feeding on the organism's soft flesh.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionMollusca
ClassGastropoda
OrderLittorinimorpha
FamilyNaticidae
GenusNeverita
SpeciesNeverita lewisii