General Description

Shell rounded at base, pointed at the end. Grey-pink with a brown or orange stripe around the upper part of each segment (whorl). Pointed tip of shell (apex) usually blue-grey. Aperture semi-circular. Operculum (flap that covers aperture) horny rather than shelly, thin. Shell up to 5 cm long.

Biology

Moon Snails leave trails behind them as they move across sand at low tide. Like all snails in this family, they are predators, eating bivalves and other sea snails by drilling a hole into the shell, using their rough radular and acid, through which they extract the soft body. These holes have a distinctive countersunk shape, being narrower at the bottom than the top. While drilling, the Moon Snail holds its prey in its large, muscular foot to prevent it escaping. Females lay "C" shape egg masses in a stiff jelly, which are often mistaken for jellyfish. These egg masses are very similar to those of Polinices sordidus.

Distribution

Mainland Australia and Tasmania.

Habitat

Intertidal sand flats.

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