Please help! - animal on gorgonian

September 3, 2002
From: Adam Bright

Recently I found a yellow gorgonian in about two feet of water (North Carolina, USA, Atalantic Ocean June 3,2002). It was about 1/2 mile up in the mouth of a river(from the ocean). It came from a sandy to muddy bottom. On the gorgonian I found a slug/snail of some kind. I have placed it in my tank and it has grown from 1cm to 2.5cm in three months. It is the same color yellow as the Gorg. It omly stays on the gorg. and it has a beautiful pattern of black tiny dots. It has quite an odd shape. It is long and narrow and comes to a precise point at both ends. The pattern of dots is on its flesh which wraps around its shell like a cowry. It seems to be doing well in the tank so far. I would just like to know what it is and any info on it. Thanks!!
Sorry no pic!
Adam Bright

vanessajoybright@hotmail.com

Bright, A., 2002 (Sep 3) Please help! - animal on gorgonian. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7874

Dear Adam,
From your description I would say your animal is a snail of the family Ovulidae - often called 'false cowries'. Many species live exclusively on gorgoniids. The shell is often elongate and covered by flaps of the brightly coloured skin. Some species use their shape and colour to camouflage themselves on their host gorgonian while others have a bright colour pattern which makes them startlingly obvious. Many of them store noxious chemicals, which they obtain from their food, for their own defence. In both their bright colours and the chemical defence they mimic they behaviour of many nudibranchs. [see page on opisthobranch colour].
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2002 (Sep 3). Comment on Please help! - animal on gorgonian by Adam Bright. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7874

Factsheet

Ovulids (False Cowries)

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