Nature

Moment Limpet And Sea Snail High Five Before Going Separate Ways

This is the moment a limpet and a sea snail cross paths on a rock and their tentacles briefly tangle as if giving a high five before they go their separate ways.

The video was filmed at the Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in the US state of Alaska, and was shared on social media on 28th May.

The Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve said: “A limpet and snail met on a trail their tentacles tapping a tune ‘It’s almost low tide, we’d better go hide!’ from the herons, otters, and loons…

A periwinkle snail and a limpet snail at Glacier Bay National Park in Southeast Alaska in the United States. (NPS/Newsflash)

“A periwinkle snail passes a limpet, both using their tentacles and mouths to reach and feel the barnacled-rock upon which they pass. As they pass, their tentacles briefly tangle before they go their separate ways.”

The common periwinkle (Littorina littorea) is a small edible whelk or sea snail that has gills and an operculum, and is classified within the Littorinidae family.

Sea snails which are actually closely related to limpets are typically active at low tide and can move around in the open because they can also breathe air.

A periwinkle snail passes a limpet at Glacier Bay National Park in Southeast Alaska in the United States. (NPS/Newsflash)

Limpets are a group of aquatic snails that have a conical shell shape and a strong, muscular foot to attach itself to rocks.

Both sea snails and limpets compete for small algae and diatoms on rocks.

The limpets use a special toothed tongue that they scrape against the rock to remove them.

A periwinkle snail passes a limpet, both using their tentacles and mouths to reach and feel the barnacled rock upon which they pass at Glacier Bay National Park in Southeast Alaska in the United States. (NPS/Newsflash)

And in contrast, they are not an easy meal themselves, as they are able to hold onto the rock with incredible force.

The Glacier Bay Park said that the force required to remove one no bigger than the size of a fingernail is around 70 pounds.

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve became part of a binational UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, and a Biosphere Reserve in 1986.

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