Order : Umbraculida
Superfamily : Umbraculoidea
Family : Umbraculidae
Distribution : Widespread in tropical to warm temperate Indo-West Pacific
Maximal size : 150 mm
Abundance : From time to time on the rocky coast

A notaspid, with a large external shell covering the dorsum. The shell, is usually covered with encrusting plant and animal growths.
   The orange body is circular, with large and white rounded pustules. The center of the pustules has usually a pale orange coloration.

Philibert Bidgrain

The same specimen found in Etang salé.

The position of the head can only be determined by the tubular rhinophoral tentacles which extend out from beneath the shell.

Maurice Jay

The Shell :

The inner side is glossy yellowish white, with a brown central disk bearing radiate folds.

The upper side is white, and bears numerous circular growth lines, and irregular wide axial folds. It bears a brown epidermis.

The animal :

Size : 116 x 103 x 18 mm

Philibert Bidgrain       Reunion, Etang salé on rocky coast, 23 October 2006, size 70-80 mm

Underside of this specimen. In this photo you can observe the mouth (orange)

This specimen probablly eating a sponge.

The proboscis does not evert, so in feeding, the anterior cleft must be spread open so that the mouth can be pressed against the sponge colony.

Philibert Bidgrain

Reunion, Etang salé on rocky coast, 30 October 2006, size 110 mm

The large gill which lies under the shell arround the front and down the right side of the body. Usually the gill is hidden under the shell, but when the animal is feeling safe, it can extend the gill out from under the shell.

Philibert Bidgrain

Reunion, Etang salé on rocky coast, 29 November 2006, animal size 140 mm, shell size : 80 mm

The position of the head can only be determined by the tubular rhinophoral tentacles which extend out from beneath the shell. The eye (a) corresponded to the black spot on the rhinophoral base.

The large gill (b) which lies under the shell arround the front and down the right side of the body. Usually the gill is hidden under the shell, but when the animal is feeling safe, it can extend the gill out from under the shell.

animal size 140 mm, shell size : 80 mm

Christophe Cadet

Reunion, Etang salé, on the rocky coast, less 1 m, September 2009, size : 25 mm

The orange body is circular, without large and white rounded pustules in this small specimen

Philibert Bidgrain

Reunion, Etang salé , on the rocky coast, less 1 m, 11 February 2007, animal size : 18-20 mm

On this small specimen, the orange body is circular, with large and white rounded pustules.

Elisabeth Morcel

Reunion, La saline lagoon, Coco Beach, less 1 m, 5 January 2010, size: shell, 100 mm

Partially eaten by a predator ???

Alain Barrère

Reunion, Etang salè lagoon, less 1 m, 13 February 2011, size : 90-100 mm

Tom Thompson (1970) reported some facts and figures about an egg mass produced by a 16 cm long animal from N. Stradbroke Id, Queensland. The uncoiled ribbon was 100 cm long and 22 mm high. There were on average 37 eggs in each capsule present on the ribbon.

With its spawn

Seb Vasquez

Reunion, Etang salè on the rocky coast, less 1 m, 5 February 2015

During the night