Scientific Name: Pyramidella dolabrata

Adult Size: 20 – 40 mm
Depth Range: 0 – 25 m; often found in shallow sandy lagoons and seagrass beds
Biotope / Habitat: Lives buried in sand or moving across seagrass and algae beds, usually in sheltered coastal zones
Diet: Ectoparasitic; feeds by inserting its long proboscis into the soft tissues of polychaete worms and bivalves, sucking out body fluids
Reproduction: Separate sexes; fertilization is internal, and females lay egg capsules attached to hard substrates. Free-swimming larvae disperse widely before settling
Fun Fact: Unlike many colourful nudibranchs, Pyramidella dolabrata is a sleek, elongate snail with a pointed, pyramid-shaped shell. Its parasitic lifestyle is unusual among marine gastropods and makes it an important player in regulating worm and mollusk populations.

Slender, glossy, and sharply pointed, Pyramidella dolabrata is an elegant pyramidellid snail that reveals the diversity of gastropod lifestyles. More subtle than reef slugs, it nonetheless offers fascinating insights into parasitic adaptations beneath the waves.