Yakdriver
03-04-05, 23:22
A few months back I noticed one of my turbo snails had what looked like a calcerous bump type growth on it's shell. i presumed the shell had become slighly deformed when growing.
What I didn't realise until tonight was the 'bump' is actually another snail of some kind which lives on/in the turbo's shell. It's fixed firmly to the turbo's shell and cannot move, so it actually forms part of the turbo and goes where it goes. Tonight for the first time I saw the animal inside come out, feeding in parrallel with the turbo.
Is it some kind of barnacle?
ID anyone?
Turbo with 'hitchhiker'
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploads/snailhitchcg2.jpg
close up of hitchhiker showing black 'feeding tube and 'antennae' coming out of shell
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploads/snailhitchcg1.jpg
What I didn't realise until tonight was the 'bump' is actually another snail of some kind which lives on/in the turbo's shell. It's fixed firmly to the turbo's shell and cannot move, so it actually forms part of the turbo and goes where it goes. Tonight for the first time I saw the animal inside come out, feeding in parrallel with the turbo.
Is it some kind of barnacle?
ID anyone?
Turbo with 'hitchhiker'
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploads/snailhitchcg2.jpg
close up of hitchhiker showing black 'feeding tube and 'antennae' coming out of shell
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploads/snailhitchcg1.jpg