Day 319#: Wavy Volute
Today's animal of the day is the Wavy Volute (Amoria undulata)!
Photo credit: Julian Finn
This species of sea snail can be found in the relatively shallow intertidal sandbanks around Australia and Tasmania. The "volute" part of their name means "scroll" or "spiral curve" and comes from the fact that they are a member of the family Volutidae, which tend to have curved shells. Meanwhile, the "wavy" part of their name is fairly obvious and comes from the series of zigzagging stripes that cover the outside of their shells as well as their "foot". The foot of a snail is different from the foot of a human or other vertebrate, and is the muscular part of the snail's body that they use to slither around the seafloor.
Photo credit: Peter Southwood
Like other members of the Volute family, these marine gastropods are carnivorous and will search the sea floor for clams, echinoderms, and smaller species of snails to eat. However, since they are only around 2 to 4.7 inches long, they are also often preyed upon themselves by many species of predatory crabs, fish, and even larger sea snails. As such, they are usually only active at night to avoid being detected by predators.
