Indian tower snail
| Indian tower snail | ||||||||||||
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Housing of Unedogemmula indica |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Unedogemmula indica | ||||||||||||
| ( Röding , 1798) |
The Indian turritellidae ( Unedogemmula indica , common synonym : Lophiotoma indica , originally Turris indica ) is a snail from the family of turrid that in the Indo-Pacific is widespread and polychaete (Polychaeta) eats.
features
The spindle-shaped snail shell of Unedogemmula indica reaches an average length of about 6.5 cm and width of 2 cm in adult snails, but the length varies from 3.5 cm to 9 cm. The whorls have sharp, spiraling keels or even less pronounced ribs and lines. While the shoulder angle is only weak, the central rib of the handle forms a strong keel. The remaining spiral ribs are smaller and closer together than in other species of the genus. The housing has a long siphon channel. The surface of the shell is yellowish-brown and sometimes indistinctly marbled or variegated.
distribution and habitat
Unedogemmula indica is distributed in the Indo-Pacific from the coast of East Africa and Madagascar via the Mascarene Islands , India and Sri Lanka to the Philippines , the South China Sea , Japan , Fiji and Australia ( Queensland ). It lives below the intertidal zone and in the open sea to depths of about 50 m and is common on muddy surfaces.
Development cycle
Like all slugs, Unedogemmula indica is of separate sex. The Veliger larvae swim free before they sink and metamorphose into crawling snails .
nutrition
There are no studies on the food spectrum of Unedogemmula indica . Slotted tower snails feed on poly-bristles , which they prick and poison with their radula teeth .
literature
- George Washington Tryon: Manual of Conchology, structural and systematic, with illustrations of the species , vol. VI; Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 1884. T [urris] tigrina Linn., P. 170. T [urris] indica Linn., P. 174.
Web links
- Fischhaus Zepkow: Family Turridae - slug tower snails
- Turridae. From: JM Poutiers: Gastropods . In: Kent E. Carpenter, Volker H. Niem (Eds.): FAO Species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 1: Seaweeds, corals, bivalves and gastropods. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, 1998. pp. 629-631, here 630.