Bleeding snail

The bleeding snail is a common mollusk found in the shallow waters off the coast of Avelax. It is recognizeable by the faint irregular zigzags running across its pale blue or violet conical shell, although in a living snail the shell is mostly covered by a translucent periostracum. Bleeding snails get their name from the red "snailsblood" they emit from a ventral orifice if disturbed. This substance is highly irritating to the skin and especially to the mucous membranes, making the bleeding snail something cautious swimmers make sure to avoid.

Diet

Unlike its closest relatives, the bleeding snail is not primarily a predator; the poison its cousins use to kill or stun prey has developed into the bleeding snail's "blood". Bleeding snails have an omnivorous diet, feeding mostly on sea grass, on detritus, and occasionally on coral and other sessile animals. Sometimes, the bleeding snail will attack smaller, slow-moving molluscs and crustaceans; although it is not venomous, its radula is capable of drilling through their shells, and it can feed on them directly without killing them first.

Blood

The "blood" gives the bleeding snail its name is not, of course, true blood at all, but a toxin that the snail secretes into the water in response to a perceived threat. This "snailsblood" causes in the flesh of other organisms a highly painful burning sensation that may last for several hours, and linger at reduced levels for many hours longer; there are certain remedies that can end or reduce the pain sooner. Human skin takes on a deep purplish shade while affected with the toxin. Some people are allergic to snailsblood, and may have a fatal reaction to contact with it, but for most humans and other creatures the toxin will do no permanent damage, though it will certainly be unpleasant.

Shell

Many collectors value the unusually colored shell of the bleeding snail, which can go for up to the equivalent of 80 dollars in some markets. Despite the irritating emissions of the bleeding snail, there are those who make a living, or at least supplement their incomes, searching for the snails to supply collectors. Typically the snail hunters remove the dark periostracum, either chemically or by careful scraping, before selling them, the better to expose the more colorful shell underneath. For this very reason, however, many collectors prefer shells with the periostracum intact, because they are more rarely sold and are therefore more valuable because of their scarcity.