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Phylum Mollusca > Class Gastropoda
Ulimid snails
Family Eulimidae
updated Aug 2020
Where seen? These tiny snails are sometimes seen on echinoderms such as sea stars, sea cucumbers and sea urchins.

Features: 0.1-0.5cm. Long conical shell, usually white some have brownish patterns. When not attached to a host, they may float on the water surface, often forming 'rafts' sticking to one another.

Cyrene Reef, Jul 12
On Common sea star.
What do they eat? These are parasitic snails that feed on their host. Apparently, they stick their proboscis through the body wall and suck on the host's body fluids.

On a plain sand star.
Changi, Jun 05

Laying eggs too?

Possibly Eulima adamsii.
Cyrene Reef, Aug 11
 On a Cake sand dollar.
So far, these have been seen on the Plain sand star, Painted sand star and Common sea star. Stuck on the upper side of the sea star, sometimes in between the arms in the 'arm pit' of the sea star. Also on a Thorny sea cucumber. As well as on White sea urchins.

Cyrene Reef, Jul 12
On Common sea star.

Cyrene Reef, Jul 12
On Common sea star.

Cyrene Reef, Aug 11
On Common sea star.
Ulimid snails on Singapore shores
On wildsingapore flickr
Other sightings on Singapore shores

Changi, Jan 15
 Photo shared by Marcus Ng on facebook.

East Coast Park, Feb 16
 On a Painted sand star.
Photo shared by Loh Kok Sheng on flickr.

East Coast, Jun 09
On a sea cucumber.
Photo shared by James Koh on flickr.

Cyrene, May 17
On White Salmacis urchin.
Photo shared on Singapore Biodiversity Records.
Familty Eulimidae recorded for Singapore
 from Tan Siong Kiat and Henrietta P. M. Woo, 2010 Preliminary Checklist of The Molluscs of Singapore.
+Other additions (Singapore Biodiversity Record, etc)

  Family Eulimidae
  +Eulima adamsii

Melanella aciculata
Melanella martinii

Niso hizensis

Pyramidelloides mirandus

+Vitreobalcis sp.

References

  • Calvin Jiah Jay Leow. 31 August 2020. Parasitic snail, Eulima adamsii, on sand dollar Arachnoides placenta. Singapore Biodiversity Records 2020: 127 ISSN 2345-7597
  • Ying Lynette Shu Min. 29 Sep 2017. Parasitic snails, Vitreobalcis sp., on white sea urchins (Salmacis sphaeroides) at Cyrene Reef. Singapore Biodiversity Records 2017: 123-124.
  • Tan Siong Kiat and Henrietta P. M. Woo, 2010 Preliminary Checklist of The Molluscs of Singapore (pdf), Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore.
  • Coleman, Neville. 2003. 2002 Sea Shells: Catalogue of Indo-Pacific Mollusca Neville Coleman's Underwater Geographic Pty Ltd, Australia.144pp.
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