the spanish dancer

one day in tonga while walking on the beach, i found a very interesting looking sea snail in the water - one of the kind that has no house. so, a slug to be accurate. i guess you know slugs, these yucky, brown to orange, slimy fellows that you can find very often after it has rained (at least in germany).

but this one was not yucky at all. very nice instead. bright red and about 25 cm long.

it took me some time googling to find out more about this creature (by doing so, i also learned how colorful and beautiful sea snails can be). and i was not surprised when i found out the name of this specific type of sea snail: spanish dancer.

not surprised? but it seems to be a strange name for a snail...

well, not if you see what it can do...

p.s.: 25 cm is quite small fot these slugs. usually they exceed 40 cm and some even grow up to 90 cm!