Cart-rut-shell snail egg mass

Description:

A dried-up egg mass of a marine snail. They were a cluster of pale pink papery ovoid capsules with flat tops. Each capsule would have been about 10 mm tall.

Habitat:

Seen washed-up on the beach - intertidal zone- southern coast of Victoria.

Notes:

The snail has a shell with ridges and grooves like the ruts made by a cart, hence the name. This species is carnivorous, cannibalistic and can scavenge.
The eggs are wrapped in layers of membranes that form a capsule and the larvae develop within living off the encapsulated yolk. The clusters of egg capsules are attached to the substrate, usually rocks. Each capsule is said to contain hundreds of eggs and the larvae develop withing the capsule to a fairly advanced stage ( about 4 weeks) when they leave the capsule through the hole on top.
Please see reference for more information. Family: Muricidae