Sea elephant

Well, it turns out there is a common name for the gnarly marine snail featured in my last post. It’s called a sea elephant.

So I stand corrected. There is a common name for Carinaria japonica, not necessarily one that makes any sense, but a common name all the same.

Revealing the common name is also an excuse to post another photo. This one is lighter so it’s easier to see the animal’s shape. But still not the best photo, so many apologies.

Since Carinaria japonica doesn’t look like a sea elephant to me, I’m going to stick with the nickname Carnie, it just fits better. (Maybe Carnie’s body looks like an elephant’s trunk? Just brainstorming…)