Id

[clownfreak]

I'm pretty sure these are nassarius snails but wanted to be sure
<a href="http://www.zooomr.com/photos/clowncrazy/9885047/" title="Zooomr Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.zooomr.com/images/9885047_b84ef5503d.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="P1040409" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.zooomr.com/photos/clowncrazy/9885047/"></a> <a href="http://www.zooomr.com/clowncrazy/"></a>

<a href="http://www.zooomr.com/photos/clowncrazy/9885048/" title="Zooomr Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.zooomr.com/images/9885048_772fcb397e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="P1040416" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.zooomr.com/photos/clowncrazy/9885048/"></a> <a href="http://www.zooomr.com/clowncrazy/"></a>

and maybe an ID of this star? I don't think the picture is good enough though
<a href="http://www.zooomr.com/photos/clowncrazy/9885046/" title="Zooomr Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.zooomr.com/images/9885046_2ad5bde305.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="P1040703" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.zooomr.com/photos/clowncrazy/9885046/"></a> <a href="http://www.zooomr.com/clowncrazy/"></a>

Final snail of unknown species, looks a lot like a turbo but doesn't have the two "legs" and mouth of my mexican turbo (also bad picture). It seems to be trying to bury itself in the sand

<a href="http://www.zooomr.com/photos/clowncrazy/9885045/" title="Zooomr Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.zooomr.com/images/9885045_16db53cd45.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="P1040702" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.zooomr.com/photos/clowncrazy/9885045/"></a> <a href="http://www.zooomr.com/clowncrazy/"></a>

 

[clownfreak]

and these were all collected by me near the North Carolina/South Carolina border. I assume this makes them all coldwater species?

 

[donya]

First one is hard to see clearly from the pictures, but from the range it is probably Ilyanassa obsoleta - eastern mud snail. Last one looks to be a type of moon snail. If it is, I would be interested to know what kind of habitat it was found in, as I have been occasionally looked for these snails with not much success further north. The shells are everywhere but I have never seen a live one. I can't offer any help on the star, sorry.

Regarding the water temperature, if in doubt, keep them in an unheated environment until you determine their tolerances. I've read conflicting info on I. obsoleta's tolerance and have only kept it as high as room temperature goes in the summer (~74F). I don't know the limits for the others.

 

[pagojoe]

Donya is correct. The moon snails are usually in muddy sand in a fairly sheltered area. They're easier to find at night.

Cheers,



Don

 

[clownfreak]

The mud snails I found in a sheltered tidal pool like area. It was off an inlet and was essentially a small pond connected to the ocean. The moon snail I believe came with a bunch of crabs (possibly conchs or some time of hermit) that a friend picked up in a flat during low tide. The flat was on a main drag of the beach, so not what I would call a sheltered area. Several crabs have an identical shell.

Thank you very much, just read up on the Ilyanassa obsoleta and they will definitely not be going in the reef. The moon snail seems to be a correct ID by the description of it's behavior. Explains a crab shell that was empty and had a hole in it too.