Swollen Bubble Shell, Hydatina amplustre

Finding the precious, fragile tiny coral banded shells of these bubble shells is a treat in itself. But to find a living, moving creature — WoW! Not only are they nocturnal, they love to bury themselves in sand that is similar in colour to their shells. Like the Wavy Bubble Shell, they are usually found in the intertidal zone down to about 6 ft (2 metres).  The animals shown here were found in the tide pools of North Kihei, Maui.   To 50 mm (the animal, not the shell).  For a more scientific take on members of this family check out Cory Pittman and Pauline Fiene’s site Sea Slugs of Hawaii.