I did a bit of research on these mysterious snails. Apparently the animal is listed under two names, it appears the first is correct: Engina mendicaria and Pusiostoma mendicaria. The WWM crew refer to them as strictly carnivorous - whether this means they are scavengers or true predators I am unsure. However, I did find an article in The Journal of Zoology referring to the prey of Engina armillata (Gastropoda: Buccinidae) being polychaetes, that is, worms [1]. Perhaps it is safe to say they may be a risk in a reef tank, compromising one's sand bed and the microfauna that populate it. It is unfortunate that so many retailers list them as reef-safe.
[1] http://journals.cambridge.org/bin/bl...1005&REQAUTH=0
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-Quinn
Man, n. ...His chief occupation is extermination of other animals and his own species, which, however, multiplies with such insistent rapidity as to infest the whole habitable earth, and Canada. - A. Bierce, Devil's Dictionary, 1906
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