Need snail ID please

skozzy1

New member
Found this little guy after months of no new additions. Only comes out after lights out.

Gel-snail.jpg
 
OMG kill whatever that is that you took a pic with a great cameraand it looks outta this world.
 
pretty cool that looks like a sponge growing on its shell, no id though:eek2:
 
LOL that's a pretty tall order to ID a snail when you can only see his snooter and a couple antennae... That said, it's either a trochid or a chilodontid (until recently, lumped with the trochids). My first guess is Euchelus atratus. If it is this species, the operculum (trap door on the snail) will look like an amber disc, with a dark trapezoidal marking in the middle (which is the color of the foot showing through). They are often found covered with sponge, and though they are supposedly algal grazers, I've often found them in association with sponges. There are several trochids which look similar, with the same coloration on the head, foot, and antennae. They include Diloma samoaensis, Monodonta radula, and probably several that I'm not thinking of. Take him out and see if he doesn't show the dark marking on the operculum like I mentioned for Euchelus atratus.

http://www.gastropods.com/5/Shell_8265.html

http://www.gastropods.com/9/Shell_24929.html

http://www.gastropods.com/6/Shell_9956.html
(the top photo..the bottom is a different species)

Whichever it is, it should be reef safe.

Cheers,



Don
 
Oops, sorry Don, I didnt see your post above.
I will try tonight to catch him tonight and check it out further.
Whats the deal with the jelly substance. My guess is that it tastses nasty to predators.
 
Yeah, I don't know where the jelly comes from. I suppose it's a coating made by the snail that covers the sponge, but I've never really known. You can find some specimens of Euchelus atratus that have only the sponge coating, and some that have the sponge and the jelly, all under the same rock. If you find one that looks like the ones in the link I posted, they are probably dead and inhabited by a hermit crab. The black example farther down the page is more typical than most of the shells in that top link.

Cheers,



Don
 
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