A species of conch called Adelomelon brasiliana, uh, belongs to the same family as the coconut snail, but in different genera, it looks just like any other conch you usually see. When you're on the sea in South America, you might see it at first glance and not be surprised at all, I mean, it's not that impressive in appearance. Pure white, or gray shell, the shape is not outstanding.
Yes, that's not at all interesting. Image: Michael Palomino
Of course, that's because you haven't seen them really interesting yet.
Oh, that's what it looks like. Image: Walter Prado
"Don't eggs just look like this, what's wrong?" No, no, no, you may not have figured out the situation yet:
Let's take a look at the size. Image: cenemar.org.br
These balls are not actually snail eggs, but free-floating egg sacs produced by this mollusk — like alien eggs. Honestly, when I first saw these animals, I thought I was in the middle of invasion. "Conch invasion", which doesn't sound like a terrible thing, even if it's an alien conch. The shape of these things may not meet Hollywood standards, but I still think that the descendants of these conchs are really incredible.
Yes, there are a number of small conchs living in one egg sac. Image: myamazingearth.com
These conchs lay their eggs in a giant sac filled with fluids that are rich in sugars and proteins for the newborn conchs to grow. According to Diego In a study led by Diego C. Luzzatto, it was found that the breeding of these conchs was related to the temperature of the seawater. Their breeding season is generally from September to October or April to June, and the eggs are laid near the coastline, and because they are free to drift, these eggs are easily washed up on the coast by storms and stranded – which of course leads to a large number of deaths, which is the case in the picture. However, according to the study, such mass deaths may be uncommon.
Through the light, the picture is actually very beautiful. Image: Toto Franchi
These conchs take about 57 days from birth to maturity. According to studies, the closer you get to the incubation period, the proteins, sugars, and pH in the sacs gradually decline.
The next time you have the opportunity to stroll along the Argentine seashore, don't be afraid to see these strange alien-like eggs, they are not thieves who want to take your soul, they are just huge gastropod oocysts...