can I please get an ID on this snail?

[miatawnt2b]

Found this hitchiker on a piece of rock and I have never seen anything like it before. I believe it to be a snail, yet where its body would be there is a cone-shaped appendage like a worm. Is this safe or should I send him down the drain?
-J

 

[LeslieH]

That's a Heliacus, one of the snails commonly called sun dials because the body is flat. The pointed part is the operculum. When the snail retracts into its shell the operculum functions as a door, keeping the snail safe from some predators. The bad news is that these feed on zoanthids. See http://www.corallibrary.info/showphoto.php?photo=626&cat=537

 

[Bcollins111900]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=926648

yep they love to snack on zoas. Get them out as soon as possible.

 

[keebler1]

I would second the ID and add- dont just throw him away. I believe Beananimal and Adam are looking for them to get rid of some zoos in their tanks. Check on the PMAS forum board.