Grainy Mulberry Snail
| Grainy Mulberry Snail | ||||||||||||
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Housing of Tenguella granulata |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Morula granulata | ||||||||||||
| Duclos , 1832 |
The granular mulberry snail or black mulberry snail ( Tenguella granulata , alternatively Morula granulata ) is a snail from the family of spiny snails , which is common in the Indo-Pacific and feeds on snails and mussels.
features
The conical, elongated and compact shell of the granular mulberry snail, which in adult snails reaches a length of about 1.8 to 3 cm, has no varices. It is sculptured with spiral rows of blunt knots and cords running in between. The perimeter of the body has 6 rows of nodules. The outer lip of the case mouth is covered with 4 to 5 teeth. The basic color of the case is white, the nodes on it dark brown to black, the inside of the case mouth blackish, the spindle and the inner lip white.
distribution and habitat
The granular mulberry snail is widespread in the Indo-Pacific from the East African and South African coasts of KwaZulu-Natal , Mozambique , Tanzania and Kenya via Aldabra , Chagos , Madagascar and the Mascarene Mountains east to Australia ( Northern Territory , Queensland , Western Australia ), where they are on rocky areas Found in the intertidal zone.
nutrition
The granular mulberry snail mainly eats mussels and herbivorous snails, in whose shell - like other spiny snails - it bores holes with the help of its radula . Their prey includes snails of the genera Cerithium , Rissoina , Heliacus and Bittium as well as mussels of the genus Hormomya .
Predators and protection
The compact shape of the case with dense surrounds and strong sculpting as well as the narrow case mouth with its toothed outer lip offer protection against predators such as fish and crabs that crack the shells of molluscs. Nevertheless, it is among other carnivorous snails like with fangs armed Nussatellakegel ( Conus nussatella captured).
Danger
Females of the granular mulberry snail are harmed by Imposex due to the water pollution with tributyltin compounds , a component of protective varnish on boats.
literature
- DG Steyn, Markus Lussi: Marine Shells of South Africa: An Illustrated Collector's Guide to Beached Shells. Ekogilde Publishers, Hartebeespoort 1998. p. 90.
- Barry Robert Wilson: A Field guide to australian shells Prosobranch Gastropods. Reed Books, Frenchs Forest (NSW) 1988. p. 156.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Alan J. Kohn (1970): Food Habits of the Gastropod Mitra litterata Lamarck: Relation to Trophic Structure of the Intertidal Marine Bench Community in Hawaii. Pacific Science 24 (4), pp. 483-486.
- ↑ Geerat J. Vermeij, John D. Currey (1980): Geographical variation in the strength of thaidid snail shells. Biological Bulletin 158, pp. 383-389. doi: 10.2307 / 1540864
- ^ Alfred R. Calabrese (1971): Feeding observations of Conus nussatella (Linnaeus, 1757). Hawaiian Shell News 19 (1), p. 1.
- ↑ TJ Reitsema, JT Spickett (1999): Imposex in Morula granulata as Bioindicator of Tributyltin (TBT) Contamination in the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia. Marine Pollution Bulletin 39 (1-12), pp. 280-284. doi: 10.1016 / S0025-326X (99) 00091-0 .