Snail ID

[AJSTITAN14]

Today after lights out I found a snail on the glass. Unfortunately I don't have a picture. I couldn't match it to anything I saw at Chuck's.

The most distinctive feature is a brown teardrop shape on the shell like the dark half of a yin yang. It has a long tapering foot that's a lot like the nassarius snail and it has 2 little points on the back corners. It does not have a siphon. The overall shape of the snail's shell is like a bean shape and it has a long slit like opening like a cowry but I'm not sure it's a Cowry.

[pagojoe]

Gonna be tough with no pic. Is the slit-like aperture in the middle of the shell along one side?



Don

[AJSTITAN14]

Yeah I cant get any detail on it with my cell phone.

I'm not sure what yo mean. the foot is coming out of a slit along the length of the shell instead of an opening like a turbo snail has.

[pagojoe]

I mean there are a ton of species in many different families that have slit-like apertures and blotches on the dorsum. The position of the slit varies somewhat with family.

Slit near the edge of the shell:

http://www.gastropods.com/5/Shell_3485.shtml
http://www.gastropods.com/0/Shell_760.shtml
http://www.gastropods.com/3/Shell_4473.shtml

Slit more toward the middle of the shell:

http://www.gastropods.com/6/Shell_1956.shtml
http://www.gastropods.com/5/Shell_4715.shtml

Slit central or almost at the center of the shell:

http://www.gastropods.com/2/Shell_92.shtml
http://www.gastropods.com/7/Shell_7867.shtml
http://www.gastropods.com/4/Shell_38944.shtml

If it has teeth on boths sides of the slit, that's a pretty good clue that it's a cowry.

Cheers,




Don