Ribbed purple snail
| Ribbed purple snail | ||||||||||||
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Ribbed purple snail ( Ocenebra cinerea ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Ocenebra erinacea | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The ribbed purple snail ( Ocenebra erinacea ) is a species of sea snail belonging to the family of spiny snails (Muricidae). It feeds predatory on oysters (Ostreidae) and other mussels . Like some other snails with similar eating habits, it is also called the oyster borer .
features
The shell of the ribbed purple snail is up to 6 cm high. It is conical with a greatly enlarged end turn. a total of four to seven turns are formed. The oval mouth opening ends in a moderately long, closed siphonal canal. The surface is heavily carved with axial ribs and spiral lamellas. In the intersection of ribs and lamellas, these are often drawn out like spikes. The variation in the sculpting is great and led to the listing of numerous species and subspecies that are now considered synonyms of Ocenebra erinacea . The cases are cream-colored with rust-brown spots. The soft body of the animal is yellowish to whitish with rust-brown spots. The head tentacles taper noticeably in the outer third. The eyes sit at the transition from the thin outer third to the thicker basal part. In the front part of the foot there is an area that works as a kind of suction cup. This allows the animal to hold onto its prey.
Geographical distribution and occurrence
The ribbed purple snail occurs in the eastern Atlantic and its tributaries (North Sea and Mediterranean). It lives there on hard floors, usually at a shallow depth. It occurs from the low water line to about 150 m water depth.
nutrition
The ribbed purple snail lives predatory, mainly on mussels . The snail exerts a strong pressure on the slit of the two flaps with its foot. This opens a gap through which the snail pushes its trunk and eats the victim's soft tissues. Mussels that cannot be opened in this way are drilled with the help of the radula until a hole has been made in the shell. Then the snail stretches its movable snout through and eats the victim.
See also
swell
literature
- Rosina Fechter and Gerhard Falkner: molluscs. 287 pp., Mosaik-Verlag, Munich 1990 (Steinbach's Nature Guide 10) ISBN 3-570-03414-3
Individual evidence
- ↑ Vera Fretter: The pedal sucker and anal gland of some British Stenoglossa. Proceedings of the Malacological Society of London, 27: 126-130, London 1946 ( PDF )
