Tiger Moon Snail

Scientific Name: Notocochlis tigrine

Like members of the moon snail family, a tiger moon snail is a ferocious predator that hunts bivalves and other snails. Upon detecting a prey, a tiger moon snail will wrap around it and bore a hole on the prey’s shell with the radula and excretes an acidic secretion, then followed by the proboscis, an extensible sucking organ, to reach into the hole and consume the flesh of the prey.

When a tiger moon snail lay eggs, it secretes mucus and mixes the egg mass with sand grains to form a sand collar resembling a volcano-like spiral mound. The female lies at the centre of the collar as she creates it, so the hole in centre may give an indication of the size of the mother snail.