Melon snails

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Melon snails
Melo amphora in situ

Melo amphora in situ

Systematics
Order : Sorbeoconcha
Subordination : Hypsogastropoda
Partial order : New snails (Neogastropoda)
Superfamily : Muricoidea
Family : Roller snails (Volutidae)
Genre : Melon snails
Scientific name
Melo
WJ Broderip in GB Sowerby I , 1826

The melon snails ( Melo ) are a genus of snails from the family of roller snails , the eight large to very large species of which can be found in the central Indo-Pacific .

features

The large to very large, right-hand wound casings of the Melo species have a short, blunt thread that barely protrudes from the very large, inflated body circumference and, in the case of Melo melo, is even completely covered by it. The whorls of most species have spines protruding at the very top, only with Melo melo is the casing completely rounded and without spines. There are clearly visible additional stripes, but apart from that the surface is smooth and not sculpted. The color of the housing is usually white to orange and often has a brown pattern. The snails themselves are black and white in color. An operculum is missing.

Like other roller snails, the Melo species feed on snails and mussels . Mostly large prey animals are preferred.

Like all roller snails, the snails of the genus Melo are separate sexes with internal fertilization. The females lay balls of several egg capsules up to 3 cm in size, each of which usually contains an egg in a protein-rich nutrient medium. The development up to the finished screw takes place entirely in the capsule. The hatching young snails have shell lengths of up to 3 cm.

With the diadem roller snail ( Melo amphora ), whose shell can be over 50 cm long, the genus represents the largest species of roller snail and one of the largest snails in the world.

distribution

The approximately eight species of the genus Melo live in the central Indo-Pacific from the South China Sea and the Philippines via the Sunda Islands to Australia and the coast of Burma .

species

According to the World Register of Marine Species , eight species are recognized:

literature

  • Frank Riedel: Origin and evolution of the "higher" Caenogastropoda . Berliner Geoscientific Abhandlungen, Series E, Volume 32, Berlin 2000, 240 pages, ISBN 3-89582-077-6 .
  • Maxwell Smith: A review of the Volutidae: synonymy, nomenclature, range and illustrations . Maxwell Smith, Rollins College (Winter Park, Fla.). Beal-Maltbie Shell Museum. Tropical Photographic Laboratory, Lantana (Florida) 1942, 127 pp.

Web links

Commons : Melo  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files