14th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
A specimen of the Cephalaspidea mollusc Haminoea japonica while mooving away from the freshly laid eggmass.

Haminoea japonica is a species native to Japan and Korea and recently spread to the Pacific coast of North America as well as into Europe: Atlantic coast of France and Spain, Venice lagoon in the northern Adriatic Sea and Sabaudia lagoon, Fusaro Lagoon and Maremorto lagoon in the Tyrrhenian Sea, presumably with imports of bivalves for commercial aquaculture. During a dive in the lagoon of Fusaro, I observed some specimens of this alien mollusc while laid their yellow egg masses on some green filamentous algae.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 04.2016
Date Uploaded: 11.2016
Photo Location: Italy
Camera: NIKON D800E
Copyright: © Guido Villani