Aug 15, 2008: Hunting for Moon Snails

Sometimes you find moon snails hanging out on the surface of the beach. Sometimes they're half-buried in the sand, but still visible, as in the video below:

But only the slow-moving snails get caught at low tide with their shells exposed. Most snails are sneaky, and it takes a discerning eye to find their hidey-holes.

Examine the picture below. You'll see a) Adam's hands holding a sharp oyster knife in an activated position and b) a place on the tideflats where the seaweed has been disturbed. This is where the moon snail is hiding.

Oyster fan was skeptical, too. How could a snail so clumsy bury itself so adeptly? But Adam deftly excavated the snail with his oyster knife: and exposed the sneaky snail. Another clue that there are many more moon snails on the beach than first meets the eye: the beach is absolutely littered with moon snail egg carcases: