Violet snail
Mollusca – Gastropoda
Distribution:
There are a few species of violet snails that may be washed up on Western Australian beaches by rough seas. A violet snail floats upside down far out in the open ocean, clinging to a raft it creates by secreting air-filled mucous bubbles that stick together and harden. Travelling at the mercy of ocean currents, these carnivorous snails feed on floating cnidarians, such as bluebottles and by-the-wind sailors.
Did you know?
Violet snails are adapted to life on the sea surface. When viewed from above, the dark purple colouration of the shell blends with the surrounding water and when viewed from below, the lighter colour blends with the sky. This type of camouflage is known as countershading.
In This Section
- Chordates – Animals with backbones
- Invertebrates – Animals without backbones
- Abalone
- Acorn barnacle
- Baler shell
- Blue button sea jelly
- Bluebottle
- Bryozoan
- Bubbler crabs and sand balls
- Chiton
- Cone shell
- Coral
- Cowry shell
- Crab
- Cuttlebone
- Goose barnacle
- Hermit crabs
- Horned ghost crab (Manburr)
- Limpet
- Mud crab
- Mussel
- Periwinkle
- Pipi
- Ram’s horn shell
- Razor clam
- Sand dollars
- Scallop
- Sea hare
- Sea hares
- Sea jelly
- Sea star
- Sea urchin
- Silver-lip pearl oyster
- Sponge
- Tube worm
- Turban snail
- Violet snail
- Marine Pests
- Seagrasses and Algae
- Unusual Finds