Can Someone Identify This Marine Mollusk

Fish & Invertebrate sightings and descriptions, hosted by resident NWDC ID expert Janna Nichols (nwscubamom).
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Charles1910
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Can Someone Identify This Marine Mollusk

Post by Charles1910 »

I saw this marine mollusk while snorkeling at Richmond Beach this summer.
Does anyone know what it is?Image
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YellowEye
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Re: Can Someone Identify This Marine Mollusk

Post by YellowEye »

Hi. Kind of hard to tell. Do any of the mollusks on these pages look similar?
http://emeralddiving.com/id_bivalves.html
http://emeralddiving.com/id_snails.html
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ktuli
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Re: Can Someone Identify This Marine Mollusk

Post by ktuli »

Is there a visible shell? Watching the video (from the other thread) it flies by so fast (has the video been run through a stabalizer?) that it is really hard to tell, but I thought I saw movement along the body of it... and it is rather over-exposed so it is losing all the detail.... but I honestly wondered if it might be a White Lined Dirona nudibranch.
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Charles1910
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Re: Can Someone Identify This Marine Mollusk

Post by Charles1910 »

Answer to both replies. Thank You for trying. There is definitely a shell, and there is a spike sticking out of it. None of these mollusks from emerald diving have the distinctive white shell that this critter has. Looks like I'll have to be pest at the Oceanography/Marine Biology school. It's fairly uncommon and I don't have good picture.
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YellowEye
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Re: Can Someone Identify This Marine Mollusk

Post by YellowEye »

Could it be a moon snail? They have a shell that can look different depending on how retracted the body is, and they have what can look sometimes like a spike coming out of them. See the picture on the very far top right of http://emeralddiving.com/id_snails.html
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H20doctor
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Re: Can Someone Identify This Marine Mollusk

Post by H20doctor »

Well I would say that's a moon snail even though it's completely blown out and looking white ...
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Charles1910
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Re: Can Someone Identify This Marine Mollusk

Post by Charles1910 »

Don't really want to email the Oceanography school over something this elementary. At first I thought you were way off, but as Yellow Eye pointed out they don't come out of the same mold and they could have spike. Moon snail empty egg cases are visible at Richmond Beach in May and June, so they should be a common marine mollusk in the area. H2O Doctor, I often watch the scuba videos on YouTube; really good.
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Charles1910
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Re: Can Someone Identify This Marine Mollusk

Post by Charles1910 »

Update: I think it's a piece of the shell of a dead mollusk. Someone at the shell club thought it was a Leafy Hornmouth.
The spike is the identifier. Anyone got an idea?
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YellowEye
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Re: Can Someone Identify This Marine Mollusk

Post by YellowEye »

Looks a bit white, big and shallow for a leafy hornmouth but could be.
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