My sisters husband (Thomas Wetterstrand) found this strange little creature on a straw and I ran to get any camera. I didn’t have my SD14 with me so my little brothers GS400 3CCD Panasonic had to do. (Very important information, not!)
First we thought we had found some sort of alien creature but after a short conversation with google we realized that it was only a parasite (!). Apparently it’s taking control of this poor snail only to be eaten (if seen enough) by a bird. Not sure though if it will eventually kill the bird or only live inside.
Have anyone seen anything like this before? Thread about this movie over at dpreview.
More info about it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWB_COSUXMw&eurl=http://www.flabber.nl/archief/018858.php
Thanks Guido Forrier for the link..
quite common and well known bird parasite.
Adult parasite is living in a bird, the bird has the eggs of it in it´s excrement.
Snail is eating it and the larvae is in the snail.
After a while it is making sporocyte tubes which are coloured and wandering in the antennary of the snail.
They are pulsating to be more atractive for a bird. The bird is eating the antenna and has now parasite.
Cheers
Igor
http://www.panodrom.com
very intersting explanation, Igor.. Thank you for that… I learned xomething new, today about nature.
that is so disgusting, parasites are disgusting