At first I thought this was some sort of fossil - it felt like part of the rock. Turns out it's a chiton, a marine mollusc. This one is a giant chiton, Plaxiphora albida.

Chitons use biomineralisation to coat their teeth in iron (technically magnetite) so they can chew away on coral and algae growing on rocks.

#macro #nature #chiton #mollusc #auswildlife #molluscsofaustralia #marinelife

Did you know that New Zealand and other land masses in the south-west Pacific are home to LEAF-VEINED SLUGS?

Unlike their omnivorous European relatives, these slugs eat only fungi. They breathe mainly through the skin of the back, which is kept moist by secretions passing along the many grooves.

I think they're utterly amazing, and apparently so do mesostigmatid mites (look at that mite party by the green slug)!

#Mollusc #MacroPhotography #NaturePhotography #WildlifePhotography #Nature #SoilBiodiversity