Behold a Mediterranean Bonnet Snail, Semicassis undulata, perched atop its egg case. This spectacular shot by John Paul Mellion gives us a clear view of this fairly rare snail’s brooding behavior.
Mellion told Oceanwire this sighting was a “relatively rare encounter, 3 times in 10 years … I think the animal dies when it has finished laying we find the presence of the eggs with the absence of the animal after several days … I also know that the octopus likes to eat them.”
Mediterranean Bonnet Snails are closely related to Scotch Bonnet Snails, Semicassis granulata, a marine species in the western Atlantic ocean. Fun ocean fact: in 1965 the government of North Carolina designated the Scotch Bonnet Snail’s shell as its state shell, making it the first state to have an official state shell!}.
Read more about Mediterranean Bonnet Snails on SeaLife Base here and here on iNaturalist.
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