Cute Snails Doing Cute Snail Things

[amandajeaninoregon]

Also spotted along the Shore Acres trails were many snails!  The rain must have brought them out.  I am wondering how a snail can find these beautiful shells to live in?! I have never found a shell like that in my life.  They must know where to look….

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The struggle between a starfish and an Atlantic triton sea snail can last up to an hour before the seastar is subdued by the snail's paralyzing saliva.

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X-ray image of the shell of Charonia lampas

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[jones-friend]

Sea Angel (gymnosomata)

Sea angels are a part of the gastropod (sea slug) clade. Instead of having a sticky foot they have winglike appendages, and the entire shell is lost. The small, gelatinous creatures get to be about 5cm long on average. The larger, polar versions synthesize a defensive metabolite called pteroenone to ward off predators. Other creatures take advantage of this and bring sea angels with them to ward off other predators. Sea angels are hermaphroditic, fertilizing internally, and release egg masses to float in the open ocean until they hatch. The first three pictures are sea angels as they normally appear, the bottom two pictures are sea angels when feeding.

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