Need pic of a live Crowned Baler volute

[love2godeep]

On a recent night dive in Palawan, I saw a live Crowned Baler Volute. It was huge--a shell maybe 10", and the animal (a spongy bright pink) towered above the shell, with its siphon straight up.

It made me resolve that an underwater camera must become part of my scuba gear! Needless to say, I didn't have a camera. I'd love to show my family what I saw. None of my books have a pic of the live shell.

Do any of you have a photo you could share--or a recommendation of a place I could find a pic of the live animal?

Thanks!

 

[H2Andy]

ok... first, is this what the shell looked like?

(trying to figure out the species you mean)

http://www.gastropods.com/8/Shell_148.html

or

http://www.seashells.com/mantle/giantmelon.htm

 

[love2godeep]

Yes, Andy, that's it; the melo aethiopica. Sorry, I should have given the scientific name.

 

[Former FLL Now MSP Diver]

Like this maybe?

Marc

 

[H2Andy]

see, my ruse worked... i couldn't find a pic of a live one, so i posted the other ones, stalling for time, sure in the belief that someone else would step in and produce a picture...

of the live bugger!

:happyjaz:

 

[love2godeep]

Marc, that's a shell similar to the one I saw. Thanks much!

The wierd thing was that this mollusk was in such an unusual position. The shell was underneath and the animal was billowing out over its shell and reaching upward. The siphon was maybe an inch across and was pointed straight up. The animal, at least by flashlight, looked bright pink. It was hard to see the shell itself, because it was only partly exposed. The dive instructor identified it as a crowned baler, and from what I could see, it was definitely a very large volute. Of course, it still had its periostricum.

Oh, if only I'd had a camera..... I saw a lot of things on that dive that I wished I'd been able to document with a photo.

Thanks again, guys. Any more ideas?