Xenophora with glass sponge skeleton (Philippines)
AN470
This large sea snail is from the Xenophora family -the shell carrier-. These rather large shells, have the particularity of including elements external to their shell, while they grow. Some add coral, or volcanic rocks, other shells, depending on their natural environment. This one is a double rarity: it is a Xenophora Pallidula, which comes from Negros Bay in the Philippines. it added shells, pieces of corals also, but it is above all the base of a sponge with transparent skeleton (Aspidoscopulia ospreya)! And all this to go unnoticed... It is a type of rare shells that often lives in between 50 and 150 meters deep. A curiosity of the seas! This behavior allows him not only to camouflage himself on the seabed to protect himself from predators, but also to increase the surface of his shell, which facilitates its burial in the sand.
