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The angel of drift ice

The angel of drift ice “Clione”

2023/05/28

The demonic predation scene of “the angel of drift ice” Clione is too scary! The head cracks wide open and the buccal cones pop out!

Drift ice is one of the winter features of the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, in the east of Hokkaido. Clione, which is said to “come with the drift ice and leave with the drift ice,” is called “the angel of drift ice” or “the fairy of drift ice” because of its translucent body, red head and red abdomen, and its swimming motion, which looks like an angel flying with its wings fluttering.

Clione aquarium

The scientific name of Clione is “Clione limacina.” The name “Clione” is derived from “Clio,” a goddess of the sea in Greek mythology, and “limacina” means “resembling a slug” in Latin, meaning that “Clione limacina” means “goddess of the sea like a slug.” In Japan, Clione is also called “Hadaka Kamegai (meaning “naked turtle shell”)” and it is a relative of sea snail. At the time of birth, Clione has a shell, but it disappears as it grows. The suitable water temperature for growth of Clione is said to be 0°C to 5°C. The size of Clione is as small as 1 cm to 3 cm. They swim in the water by flapping their wing-like legs (pteropods) spread to left and right.

Clione puts out its bakal cones to prey on Limacina helicina

Unlike the cute appearance for “the angel of drift ice,” Clione is one of the species of carnivorous snails. When Clione finds the shellfish, Limacina helicina (also called Mijin-Uki Mai-Mai in Japan), Clione extends six tentacles called buccal cones from its head and preys on Limacina helicina. Clione only eats Limacina helicina. It is said that Clione is able to survive for about a year without eating anything, but its survival mechanism is still unclear.

Cliones adhering to kelps casted ashore on the coast of Okhotsk

Until the time of discovery, it was thought that Clione inhabits the deep sea, but in the winter of 1990, a housewife who was walking on the coast of Abashiri City, Hokkaido, contacted the Okhotsk Aquarium (closed in 2002) and claimed that she found the Clione attached to the kelp she had picked up as a side dish for the evening meal. After receiving the information, the aquarium staff went to the beach to collect Cliones. When it became clear that Clione could be collected on the beach, there was a boom in Clione harvesting. The director of the Okhotsk Aquarium at the time named it “the angel of drift ice.”

You can appreciate Clione at The Okhotsk Sea Ice Museum

At “The Okhotsk Sea Ice Museum” in Monbetsu City, Hokkaido and the “Okhotsk Ryu-hyo Museum” in Abashiri City, you can appreciate Clione throughout the year.

 

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