2026 · Photo: Boaz Liebes
Colpodaspis thompsoni
Fried egg bubble snail
Philippines · Indo Pacific - South China Sea
- Size
- 2–3 mm · max 4 mm
- Depth
- 5–6 m
- Native range
- Indo-West Pacific, from the Red Sea and East Africa to Japan, Hawaii and Fiji
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Description
A tiny cephalaspidean bubble snail whose fragile, bubble-shaped shell is completely enclosed by the mantle. A large mucus gland in the sole of the foot probably produces sticky mucus that lets it cling to the algae on which it lives. Almost nothing is known of the biology of any Colpodaspis species.
Share link: https://seaslugs.org.il/species/colpodaspis-thompsoni-phillipines-indo-pacific-south-china-sea/
Identification
Only 2–4 mm long. The body is black to dark brown with round, slightly raised yellow patches edged in white, resembling tiny fried eggs. An elongate exhalent siphon projects on the right side; the head-shield processes and tail are dark above and white below, and the eyes show as black spots.
Habitat & diet
Habitat
On algae in shallow water, recorded around 5–6 m.
Food
Unknown.