I noticed this very fleshy invert in my tank this morning just before the lights came on.  I reached in and picked it up.  It immediately split into two pieces .  The fleshy part didn't appear to have any eyes/mouth/tenticles... anything but muscle.  Was it just a "sacrificial tail" similar to a lizard?  As you can see the invert has an external shell shaped very similar to a lima bean (abalone?). 

I have some that look like that, too.  Some have black shells and bodies, and others have a coppery colored shell and light bodies.   Wish I could tell you what they are.

Renee

I am a Stomatella Varia.

I think you killed him.

Just my opinion, though.  Not that you meant to kill 'im.

Are you saying I have a heavy hand?

Honestly, it came apart on it's own.  Almost like it was two separate critters.  If that killed it, I'm not sure how they would survive in the wilds.

jfinch wrote: I put him back into the tank.  Actually I put him into the refugium.  He acted none the less for wear.  He immediately attached to a rock and started crusing.  I threw away the part on the right.  It wiggled (like a lizards tail ) for about 5 minutes, but then hardened up and stopped so it went into the garbage.

Very interesting!  That's a new one on me.  I have a ton of these in my refugium and I've never seen them do that.  Maybe it was 2 separate creatures?  Time for me to do some more reading on them!

I saw three more last night.  If they come out again tonight I'll pull another off the rocks and look closer... wish me luck

They are awesome detrivores.  I would say they are my favorite snail.  When you pick them up out of the tank they will crawl across your hand.  Pretty cool dudes.

John,

I think that I got a couple from you in the sand that you gave me.  I saw one a couple of nights ago.  "what the he!! is that,  I know that I haven't bought any of those"  they look cool though.

Don't judge so quickly Jon

We have all been talking about a snail for the past 3 days

***Notice***  Thread hijack . . .

Hey Jon, I heard your Leopard Wrasse finally turned up.  Mine went i nthe tank and immediately dove in the substrate.  I saw him briefly once two days later- the Ornate and the Four-Line were both on him.  I have not seen him since. I hope to have the same results you seem to have had. . . . 

Yes... kinda... I still don't know

About a week or two after I put him in the tank I came home from work to find him swimming around but still being harassed by the six-line.  He then disappeared for another couple days before briefly reapearing again.  As of right now I haven't seen him in a few days.  What a strange fish!

Jon - It appears that losing the appendage is normal for the Stomatella varia.

I found this info in a article by Shimek:

Stomatella varia (Figure 11)

Almost slug-like, but possessing an auriform, cap-like shell, individuals of Stomatella seem unlikely to be Trochoideans. However odd their appearance, their internal anatomy puts them squarely in this group. Stomatella individuals may reach lengths of about an inch and a quarter (3 cm), and as their specific name of "varia" implies, they may be almost any color, although gray, black, and mottled colors tend to predominate. They are quite good grazers, and also reproduce well in aquaria lacking hermit crabs and shrimp predators. Their shell shape precludes their retraction into the shell, but evolution has given them a rather neat way to escape many predators. The rear portion of their foot can break off, much like some lizards' tails, when they are threatened by a predator. The detached portion then writhes, and twists and otherwise distracts the predator while the snail, presumably, makes good its escape. Additionally, they also tend to be nocturnal and avoid a lot of visually-oriented predators in this way.

Figure 11. A Stomatella varia about half an inch long. This individual's foot is retracted and the shell
is quite evident. The foot commonly extends far behind the shell and, additionally, often obscures
part of the shell. The odd shell shape, for a Trochoidean, is evident.

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Sean Spargur
West Valley, UT