Northern Striped Dogwinkle
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It's always a pleasure to come across a striped snail.
The Northern Striped Dogwinkle (Nucella ostrina) belongs to a genus of predatory sea snails in the rock snail family, Muricidae.
It inhabits the rocky intertidal zones of the West Coast, where it preys on mussels and barnacles by drilling holes in their shells, injecting an enzyme, and then siphoning up the liquid remains.
They need to be careful, because their home range also hosts their predators, crabs and starfish.
© 2010 Patricia A. Michaels