Flame snail

Flame snail
	Cassis flammea , Bamboo Point, San Salvador Island , Bahamas
Systematics
Subordination :	Hypsogastropoda
Partial order :	Littorinimorpha
Superfamily :	Cassoidea
Family :	Helmet snails (Cassidae)
Genre :	Cassis
Type :	Flame snail
Scientific name
	Cassis flammea
	( Linnaeus , 1758)

Casing of Cassis flammea

The flame helmet snail ( Cassis flammea ) is a snail from the family of helmet snails (genus Cassis ), which is widespread in the western Atlantic and feeds on sea urchins .

features

The rather large, heavy snail shell of Cassis flammea has a short thread, with the exception of the nodular appendages on the circumference of the body a smooth surface and a large, oval to triangular parietal shield on the spindle. It has a cream colored surface with a shade of reddish brown wavy stripes. There are dark stripes on the outer lip of the case mouth. The house becomes about 15.4 cm long in fully grown snails.

distribution and habitat

Cassis flammea is common in the Caribbean and on the coasts of Florida and the Bahamas . Flame helmets live in shallow waters in coral reefs on sand below the intertidal zone at depths of 1 to 12 m.

Life cycle

Like other helmet snails, Cassis flammea is segregated. The male mates with the female with his penis . The egg capsules deposited by the female after mating each contain several hundred eggs, most of which develop into embryos. After hatching from the egg capsule, a pelagic phase follows as Veliger larvae up to metamorphosis to the finished snail.

food

Cassis flammea eats sea urchins , which it hunts at night.

Importance to humans

Cassis flammea is a popular collector's item due to its snail shell. It is therefore endangered in many places.

Web links

Commons : Flame Helmet ( Cassis flammea ) - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Fischhaus Zepkow: Family Cassidae - Helmet snails
Cassis flammea (Linnaeus, 1758) eats a sea urchin. Picture 2012 by Linda Ianniello.

Individual evidence

↑ Sealifebase: Cassis flammea (Linnaeus, 1758), flame helmet
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d P. Humann P. (1992): Cassis flammea , in: Ned Deloach: Reef creature Identification. New World Publications, Inc., pp. 206f.
^ ^A ^b J. J. Welch (2010): The Island Rule and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence. PLoS ONE 5 (1), p. E8776. doi: 10.1371 / journal.pone.0008776 .
↑ ^a ^b Fernando Cervigón: Field guide to the commercial marine and brackish-water resources of the northern coast of South America. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1993. p. 36.
↑ Cassis flammea (Linnaeus, 1758) Flame Helmet Feeding On Sea Urchin. Photographed by Linda Ianniello while SCUBA diving in Lake Worth Lagoon near Peanut Island, Palm Beach Inlet, Palm Beach Co., Florida. © 2012 Linda Ianniello.
^ Princess Helmet (Cassis flammea) conch predating on sea urchin, Virgin Islands, Caribbean. Photographed by Solvin Zankl.

[sealife-1] Sealifebase: Cassis flammea (Linnaeus, 1758), flame helmet

[humann-1992-2] P. Humann P. (1992): Cassis flammea , in: Ned Deloach: Reef creature Identification. New World Publications, Inc., pp. 206f.

[welch-2010-3] A ^b J. J. Welch (2010): The Island Rule and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence. PLoS ONE 5 (1), p. E8776. doi: 10.1371 / journal.pone.0008776 .

[cervigon-1993-4] Fernando Cervigón: Field guide to the commercial marine and brackish-water resources of the northern coast of South America. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1993. p. 36.

[5] Cassis flammea (Linnaeus, 1758) Flame Helmet Feeding On Sea Urchin. Photographed by Linda Ianniello while SCUBA diving in Lake Worth Lagoon near Peanut Island, Palm Beach Inlet, Palm Beach Co., Florida. © 2012 Linda Ianniello.

[6] Princess Helmet (Cassis flammea) conch predating on sea urchin, Virgin Islands, Caribbean. Photographed by Solvin Zankl.