need a snail id please

[liquidfluidity]

i saw this snail at the lfs that i used to work at and decided to bring it home. i decided to have it identified before i release it i n the tank. the shell is smoother than glass and was very hard to pick up. it has red spots on it's foot and around the lower edges of it's shell. the eyes are also bright red. is it a carnivore and i should be worried or is it something with a nice disposition? the trunk(radula/probiscus?) is kind of long and the mouth is hidden by it's larger foot. it also is very fast moving and buries itself in the sand. any ideas? there are also some pics of the shell structure in my gallery.

 

[tam]

maybe a marginela snail? thats my guess..

 

[liquidfluidity]

i think that was a very good guess. Prunum apicinum looks exactly like what i have , shellwise anyways. i am still looking for a pic of a live specimen but after you posted , i went to quite a few shell sites and found it. thanks tam!:rollface: if anybody has a different guess please post but i am about 95% sure that it is a marginella. thanks!

 

[liquidfluidity]

unfortunately!!!!!

unfortunately!!!!!

this was not a friendly snail! if i happened to have a snail , cerith to be exact , this snail would come out and try to wedge itself between the ceriths body and it's shell. i am assuming to either start eating it or to give a paralysing bite first. it has now been removed and will go back to the store and i will relay my findings. i really thought it was a marginella - guess not!:mad2:

 

[Snail Guy]

Hi, don't second guess yourself...you correctly identified this guy as a marginellid. And there is indeed gathering evidence that some marginellids may indeed be predatory towards other mollusks.

Here's a post from last year that you may find of interest:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=280178&highlight=marginella

Cheers,
Bob

 

[liquidfluidity]

thanks for the reply , snailman. i see that others have had similar experiences. luckily , i removed him before he could murder the cerith. it's kind of funny , one of the other posters on that thread was talking about counting critters periodically. i do this quite regularly but this is in a 12g so it makes it pretty easy. the store had a couple more. i'm glad i didn't take them also. i wasn't real sure if i would see this one again since it went straight down into the sand as soon as i dropped him in. oh well , live and learn. all is well again on the ocean front! thanks again.