Whangarei resident Kathryn Blanchard took this photo of a tonna tankervillii she found on a Bay of Plenty beach but several have been washing up on Northland beaches.
The Northland coast continues to serve up surprises with some people who have lived locally for years recently finding large sea snails on beaches for the first time.
The inhabitants of tonna tankervillii shells, more commonly known as the cask shell, are not pretty - larger than average but, like
all snails, are the usual inky, slimy, fleshy-footed creatures.
However, the distinctively ribbed, curled, honey and cream coloured shells are lovely, and bigger than most sea shells found in New Zealand.
One Waipu resident has lived at Waipu Cove for 51 years has only in the past week found tonna sea snails.
And last week Whangarei resident Kathryn Blanchard also found one washed up when she was at a beach near Mount Maunganui. Ms Blanchard said she was tempted to keep the shell, but as it had a live inhabitant returned it to the sea after taking photographs.
