Despite the fact that sea angels would possibly glance Christmassy and angelic, those tiny animals conceal a perilous secret, says Mel Hobson.
What are sea angels?
Sea angels (Clione sp.) are one of those small, shell-less sea snail present in chilly and temperate waters world wide. Those little creatures develop to not more than 2cm lengthy and have a tendency to be discovered from the skin to depths of round 600 metres – even supposing researchers at MBARI have observed those angelic critters at 1,805 metersdeep.
They’re named sea angels as a result of their tiny ‘wings’, which developed from amuscular foot (like we might recognise in a land snail). Monterey Bay Aquarium shared a mesmerising video of a sea angel fluttering in the course of the water.
“The rhythmic flapping of its wings propels the ocean angel in the course of the open ocean and offers it the illusion of flying,” says Monterey Bay Aquarium on its web page. “Whilst the sleek actions of this swimming snail would possibly make it appear to be an angel, it is in point of fact a prowling predator.”
But if a sea angel reveals its prey, it is going into assault mode. “It pushes out finger-like tentacles from its head that clutch onto the prey, says Monterey Bay Aquarium, then “makes use of hook-like appendages to tug the prey out of its shell and into the ocean angel’s intestine. The entire procedure can take from two to 45 mins.”
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