Common Violet snail

[DickyOZ]

Common my foot! This is the first one I have ever seen.


A useful link:

http://www.australiangeographic.com....thina-janthina

[Shadowman]

Nicely seen and captured.

[Jim A]

An exotic creature, Richard. Worth a subtle vignette!

[Ken MT]

Is the clear area foam produced by the snail?

[DickyOZ]

Is the clear area foam produced by the snail?

Hi Ken,
Yes it is. The snail captures air bubbles it releases from inside the shell in a mucus secretion and creates the floatation device it relies on. (hand me down that can of beans?) and they solidify into a permanent but fragile clear sac. They rely of the sac they produce to keep themselves afloat as they drift around in the ocean. If the sac is damaged they will sink and die. A precarious existence. Their food is small jellyfish. There were a lot of juvenile Bluebottle jellyfish washed up near where I saw the snail. They can eat as many of those as they like.

[JBW]

Common my foot! This is the first one I have ever seen.


A useful link:

http://www.australiangeographic.com....thina-janthina

way cool

[JohnRostron]

I have alway known these as the Violet Sea Snail. I have never seen one alive, but even pickled ones preserve the violet shell colour. If you think about it, even if they are thinly distributed over the warmer oceans, there must still be millions of them!
John

[wilgk]

Very nice!

[just me]

Dicky.....very nice, but I never find something like this ........

Griddi.....

[DickyOZ]

Dicky.....very nice, but I never find something like this ........

Griddi.....

Thanks Griddi - it is the first one I have ever seen. There was a host of juvenile Bluebottles washed up though, their air sacks were still transparent and had yet to turn blue. I'll have another look after TC Lisa has passed by, perhaps there will be a full grown one.

There were some beautiful beach flowers.

Coral Pea

[just me]

Thanks Griddi - it is the first one I have ever seen. There was a host of juvenile Bluebottles washed up though, their air sacks were still transparent and had yet to turn blue. I'll have another look after TC Lisa has passed by, perhaps there will be a full grown one.

There were some beautiful beach flowers.

Coral Pea

Dicky, I also love the image of the beach flower, you have so much more chances to find these images to be photographed in Queensland, than here in South Australia.....but I love it here , so stay here .......

Griddi.....