Celestial Sea Creatures

What swims in the ocean, is named after an insect, but is really a snail?  A sea butterfly.  Also called a flapping snail, most species have either lost their shell altogether or else their shell is so thin it's transparent.  A land snail moves on a single 'foot', but the sea butterfly's 'foot' has evolved into two large lobes that resemble wings which is where it got its name.  It either floats with the currents or flaps its 'wings' so that it looks like its flying through the water creating a very ethereal image.

Source:  Marine Science Today

As beautiful as this mollusk seems, it is also one of the most abundant creatures in the sea and is hunted and eaten by fish, sea birds, whales, and even their sister sea slugs.  In the TV program I was watching, it was referred to as 'the potato chip of the ocean'!  That just ruined the whole image, didn't it??

Source:  Wikipedia

The sea butterfly is a plankton eater and casts a mucous net to catch its dinner.  I know, now you're totally disillusioned.  As great as these photos are, they're very deceptive because the sea butterfly is about the size of a bean!  Maybe I should have done this post on April Fool's Day.