Favoritos de cypselurus

Collected from a Band-tailed pigeon (Patagioenas fasciata) that died at a wildlife rehab and then was donated to the Cornell Museum of Vertebrates. Parasites were recovered from the bird’s body post-mortem. Specimen held at the Cornell Museum of Vertebrates (may be transferred to the Cornell insect collection) under the code “SMR 32”. Locality listed as “Elk Sammamish Pkwy, Issaquah, WA”.

Shell about 10 mm long. Found two on sand under a low intertidal boulder. Very extensible, active, blade-shaped foot and tentaculate mantle covering most of the shell. I don't recall ever seeing this species before, and with that active, white-striped foot, it was eye-catching. The last image shows one of the specimens as found, at the entrance to a burrow of unknown origin, but possibly constructed by Neotrypaea biffari, which are frequent in the boulder field at Naples Point.

The long foot, long tentacles, and mantle covering most of the shell place this little cutie in the Galeommatoidea.

Robin Agarwal (@anudibranchmom) was with me in the field when I spotted these and got a great video clip of one using its foot to move step-wise: https://www.flickr.com/photos/30314434@N06/31128212317