Margarites pupillus (unconfirmed to species level)
Bought by mistake for a warm seagrass meadow it was never built for, this cold-water grazer's group went back to the store within a day, all but one of them. That last snail stayed behind, and a week later it was found doing exactly what it does back home: grazing quietly across the glass.
Six Margarita Snails (likely Margarites pupillus, family Trochidae) were purchased from a local saltwater aquarium store and introduced to miniBIOTA's Seagrass Meadow on July 31, 2026. The following day, the group was identified as a cold-water species native to the Pacific coast of North America, a naming mix-up with a similarly named Florida species, and unsuited to the biome's warm marine conditions. Five of the six were located and returned to the store on August 1, 2026. The sixth could not be found at the time and was never removed. It was directly observed alive and feeding in the Seagrass Meadow on August 7, 2026, one week after the rest of its group was removed.
Family note: Margarita Snail belongs to family Trochidae (the "top snails"), a distinct lineage from the Turbo and Astraea/Lithopoma snails (family Turbinidae) also present in the Seagrass Meadow.
Margarites pupillus is native to cold, rocky intertidal and subtidal habitat along the Pacific coast of North America, from Alaska to California. This range is the direct opposite of the warm, subtropical Florida/Caribbean conditions the Seagrass Meadow is designed to hold.
Rocky intertidal and subtidal zones in cold temperate marine waters, grazing hard surfaces such as rock and shell. In miniBIOTA, the Seagrass Meadow and Marine Shore share connected water and are already documented as a corridor for other small grazers and scavengers (Mottled Shore Crab, Mud Crab, hermit crabs, Eelgrass Isopod), so the remaining individual could plausibly move into the Marine Shore as well. It has not been directly observed there.
Herbivorous grazer, using a radula to rasp diatoms, algae, and biofilm from hard surfaces, broadly similar in feeding mode to the Turbinidae grazers already in miniBIOTA. The remaining individual was directly observed feeding in the Seagrass Meadow on August 7, 2026; the specific items grazed were not recorded.
Trochidae species are generally understood to be broadcast spawners with planktonic larval development, though this has not been confirmed for this species or population in miniBIOTA.
Adapted to cold temperate marine water temperatures typical of the Pacific Northwest coast, not the warm subtropical marine conditions maintained in the Seagrass Meadow. This thermal mismatch is the documented reason the group was identified as unsuited and removed. The one individual left behind was directly observed alive and feeding one week later, on August 7, 2026, which shows it can tolerate Seagrass Meadow conditions at least in the short term; whether that holds over a longer period is unconfirmed.
Margarita Snail was purchased impulsively, without prior species research, alongside the Chestnut Turban Snail and an unidentified hitchhiker sea slug, as part of a broader response to hard-surface algae accumulation in the Seagrass Meadow. Unlike those other introductions, it was found unsuited to the biome within a day and mostly removed. The one individual that could not be located was directly observed alive and feeding in the Seagrass Meadow on August 7, 2026, giving it a confirmed, if very minor, grazing presence; as a single individual it cannot meaningfully offset the biome's documented hard-surface algae shortfall on its own. The Seagrass Meadow and Marine Shore are directly connected, and other small grazers and scavengers move freely between them, so the individual could end up ranging into the Marine Shore as well; this is a plausible extension based on that shared water connection, not a confirmed sighting.
Six Margarita Snails were purchased from a local saltwater aquarium store and introduced to the Seagrass Meadow on July 31, 2026, alongside two Chestnut Turban Snails and one unidentified hitchhiker sea slug, in response to ongoing hard-surface algae accumulation. The purchase was impulsive, without prior research into the species' suitability.
Six individuals introduced July 31, 2026. Five were located and removed August 1, 2026, when the group was identified as an unsuited cold-water species. The sixth could not be found at the time and was not removed. It was directly observed alive and feeding normally in the Seagrass Meadow on August 7, 2026, its first confirmed sighting since introduction. As a single individual with no prospect of local reproduction and an unresolved thermal mismatch with its native cold-water range, its longer-term outlook remains precarious despite this positive short-term observation.
Intended as an algae grazer alongside the Chestnut Turban Snail and Astraea Snail introductions, though most of the group was removed within a day before any feeding role could establish. The one remaining individual was directly observed grazing normally August 7, 2026, but as a single animal it is a negligible contributor to the biome's overall grazing capacity.
Native to cold, rocky intertidal and subtidal habitat along the Pacific coast of North America. This thermal mismatch with the Seagrass Meadow's warm saltwater conditions is the documented reason the group was identified as unsuited and mostly removed. The remaining individual was directly observed alive and feeding normally on August 7, 2026, one week later, showing at least short-term tolerance of Seagrass Meadow conditions; whether that holds over a longer period is unconfirmed.
No reproductive observations in miniBIOTA. A single unlocated individual cannot reproduce on its own; if broadcast spawning applies, recruitment would require multiple individuals regardless.
Purchased impulsively without prior research alongside the Chestnut Turban Snail and an unidentified hitchhiker sea slug. Unlike those introductions, most of the group was found unsuited to Seagrass Meadow conditions and removed within 24 hours. The one remaining individual was directly observed grazing in the biome August 7, 2026, but as a single animal contributes only marginally to the biome's overall grazing capacity.
Follow this species across the habitats where it currently appears in the miniBIOTA biosphere.