On Shackelford Island two days ago, I was going to inspect a Busycon
crawling on the sandflats. Suddenly something "swam" toward me and away from
the whelk. It was a 3 inch  Macrocallista nimbosa. It moved maybe only one
foot away from its starting point under the sand but it evaded the whelk.
Didn't evade me.

Questions:

Since Sinum perspectivum's shell is entirely enveloped by its soft parts and
burrows very close to the surface, what prevents shore birds from devouring
them?

Have people noticed Terebra dislocata populations with bright rust
coloration? (No nearby iron apparent).

Many of the T. dislocata seemed to be paired off with their spires pointed
away from each other and their anteriors together and concealed under a
small mound of sand. Are they mating?

David Kirsh
Durham, NC