Smithsonian magazine's 22nd Annual Photo Contest | Made possible through the support of MPB.com

14th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
The Gastropod Mollusk Gyroscala lamellosa while laying its eggs on a sandy bottom.

During daylight hours, this mollusk lives normally covered with a thin layer of sand in close proximity of sea anemones on which it feeds. During a night dive on the sandy bottom of the lagoon, I spotted this little mollusk. Only watching the magnified image through the camera macro lens, I realized that he was laying several spherical eggs coated with fine sand.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 07.2014
Date Uploaded: 11.2016
Photo Location: Italy
Camera: NIKON D800E
Copyright: © Guido Villani