Did you ever wonder what exactly happens when a marine snail lays its egg capsules? A cool video clip of a female Crown Conch depositing its egg capsules is central to the short scientific note recently published by National Shell Museum staff explaining the process. The note, titled “Observations on the mechanism of egg capsule deposition in Melongena corona (Mollusca: Gastropoda) based on a time-lapse video,” by Carly Hulse, José H. Leal, and Joseph R. Powell, was accepted for publication in the University of Miami’s journal Bulletin of Marine Science. The short clip was captured by Senior Aquarist Carly Hulse in one of the Museum's aquariums. To allow for a clearer understanding of the process, the 113-second time-lapse video was condensed to a zippy 27 seconds. This is the first time that egg-capsule deposition in the species is recorded in detail and interpreted using modern video resources. The short clip is included in the article, and the article serves as an explanation for the video. Check the research note with the video here.
Above: Frame from the video clip showing mother Crown Conch with a soft packet of eggs (arrow) moving through the female groove to enter the pedal (capsule-making) gland. Egg capsules are visible to the left, under the snail's foot. From the clip by Carly Hulse (More? check the research note here).