Bizzare Hitcher

[Sepeku]

Any body know what that is? It's hard like a shell and even has a hinge upon which it opens (right now its partially open). It just rides around, solidly affixed, to the back of the cerith snail.
It'll even close up if you get close and manipulate it.

 

[teto_78]

abalone..?

 

[Tang Salad]

Wow, tough call! I can't even tell what I'm looking at.

 

[Paintbug]

looks like some kind of bivalve. they are harmless filter feeders. that has got to be one of the strangest hitchhikers i have seen LOL.

 

[Sepeku]

I can get more pictures of it later. I thought it was some mutant shell growth at first and thought nothing of it.

Then it started opening and showing what appeared to be some sort of tongue on the inside. Yikes.

I'm not concerned; just curious.

 

[KJB32]

I would guess some type of bi-valve

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

I can't really tell what I'm looking at, but it seems like it might be a whelk that is laying eggs on the glass.

 

[LeslieH]

It's just some sort of rock oyster. If the snail was the type that extended it's mantle to completely cover the back (like cowries) this couldn't have happened. Snails without a mechanism to clean themselves often have epibionts.

 

[Paintbug]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9590070#post9590070 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Travis L. Stevens
I can't really tell what I'm looking at, but it seems like it might be a whelk that is laying eggs on the glass.

its a bivalve riding on a cerith snail, in front of some Nerite snail eggs.

 

[Sepeku]

Yah, Paintbug is right.

I have nerite eggs... everywhere...