When they find it, the Moon Snail wraps itself around the bivalve. Unlike the common hermit crab who shops around for their shells, moon snails keep the same shell their whole life. Role in the habitat: When a moon snail dies, its shell is usually quickly taken over by a hermit crab.Many of the moon snail shells you see on the surface will probably be so occupied. Moon snails are univalve gastropods in the family Naticidae which is composed of predatory marine snails and mollusks with globular shells that have a half moon shaped shell opening (aperture). See more ideas about Snail, Moon, Snail tattoo. Lewis’ Moon Snail is the largest of the moon snails — it can grow to 14 cm! They are tan to gray in color, and grow to approximately 10 cm across in length. Feb 7, 2017 - Explore Rosieferne's board "Moon Snails", followed by 112 people on Pinterest. The snails are known for their rather globular-shaped shells and their voracious appetite for other mollusks. Living moon snails are rarely seen above ground during the day. When their tummy rumbles they go out and look for something to eat. A moon snail shell is approximately the size of a half dollar with a large, purple mantle. A moon snail using its foot as a plough The Moonsnail will attach itself to the clam and over the next few days it will drill a hole into the clam. Physical: Moon snails are univalves with an open umbilicus. They live just below the surface of the sand, 10 cm or deeper. Moon Snail Basics. Red Foot Moon Snails originate from the coastal waters on the pacific coast of Mexico. Although it is the most common species overall, we don't often encounter Lewis' Moon Snail during our subtidal Puget Sound sediment monitoring because it lives in intertidal habitat. It is found in small crevices and caves along the coast feeding on a variety of marine algae. They are commonly found half sunk into beach flats, scavenging for … Red Foot Moon Snail native habitat, distribution, behavior & aquarium compatibility. Moon Snails usually hunt for food at night and hide during the day. The Moonsnail is rarely seen, mainly hiding in the sea and burying itself in the sand. Sometimes it will simply stay like this until the bivalve gets tired and opens its shell. Usually a tasty bivalve which can't get away fast enough. Naticidae, common name moon snails or necklace shells, is a family of minute to large-sized predatory sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Littorinimorpha.The shells of the species in this family are mostly globular in shape. Habitat: L. heros ranges from Labrador to North Carolina. Huge moon snails live in sandy sections of our beach, visible usually just at the lowest tides of the year. When a moon snail finds another snail it wants to eat, it wraps its huge foot around the hapless prey and drills a hole through the victim’s shell using its radula—a tongue like structure— and an acid secretion to soften the shell. Its shell is only 2.25 – 5.5 inches across, but the “body” or mantle can extend to nearly four times that size. Gastropod - Gastropod - Ecology and habitats: Although all levels of the ocean are inhabited by snails, they are in greatest abundance in and just below the tidal zones, where the most abundant quantities of food may be found. This predatory creature eats other mollusks, including its own kind, but prefers clams.