Margarita Pearl-ovulid

Diminovula margarita

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Littorinimorpha
Family: Ovulidae
Genus: Diminovula
Species: Diminovula margarita

The margarita pearl-ovulid (Diminovula margarita) is a tiny ovulid with a rounded, pearl-like shell, living on soft corals. Its name comes from the Greek for pearl.

Its shell is usually under 1.5 cm. The mantle, often coloured to match its host, can wrap the shell and gives it excellent camouflage as it feeds on the coral's polyps.

In the Philippines it is found on soft corals on reefs, and takes careful searching to find.

Photo: Chris Spain, CC0 1.0, via iNaturalist