Note snail
| Note snail | ||||||||||||
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Case by Voluta musica |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Voluta musica | ||||||||||||
| Linnaeus , 1758 |
The musical note snail or music roll ( Voluta musica ) is a snail from the family of roller snails (Volutidae), which is found on the coasts of Colombia , Venezuela , Suriname and the Antilles . It feeds on snails and clams .
features
The egg-shaped, very solid, axially ribbed snail shell of Voluta musica , which in adult snails reaches a length of about 8 to 12 cm, has a nodular thread with humped circumferences and a backward curved columella with up to 8 folds, of which the the lower ones are largest and the rest are very small. The whitish surface of the case is marked with 4 spirally running bands, of which the one has a delicate brown parallel running horizontal stripes or offset stripes, while the others are provided with compound dots and larger black dots, which result in a note-like pattern. The bent outer rim of the mouth usually also has black spots on the inside.
The horny operculum is pointed ovoid and takes up about 20% of the length of the case mouth.
Like the shell, the snail is whitish and drawn with a very similar pattern. The two small black eyes are at the bottom of the antennae.
distribution
The music snail lives in Atlantic waters of South America and in the Caribbean Sea , on the coasts of Colombia east of Santa Marta (from Ensenada de Chengue ), Venezuela , Suriname and the Lesser Antilles , occasionally off Haiti , the Dominican Republic , Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands . It is isolated from the Hebrew roller snail in Brazil by the freshwater barrier at the mouth of the Amazon.
Habitat and way of life
The note snail lives on granular sand of lime or shale at depths of 2 to about 40 meters, but is absent on muddy soils, mineral sand and in water with too little salt content. The snail is nocturnal and buries itself about 5 to 10 cm deep in the sand during the day. Upper parts of the housing that are not buried regularly are often infested with sponges ( Cliona sp.) Or colonized by algae. The music snail eats snails and mussels . It is not attracted by carrion, with the exception of freshly killed mollusks.
Life cycle
Like other new snails, Voluta musica is segregated. The male mates with the female with his penis . In the period from May to November (in Venezuela preferably in August, in Grenada in June and July) the female attaches about 4 to 5 translucent, hemispherical egg capsules individually to the flat side in an empty conch shell. The development of the finished snail takes place entirely within the egg capsules, which are about 1.8 to 2.5 cm in size and each contain 5 to 6 eggs in a thick nutrient medium. Up to 5 (usually 3 to 4) snails develop per capsule. After about two to three months, in the period from August to January, young snails hatch which, according to measurements in Venezuela, have about 7 mm long shells, in Grenada about 9 to 10 mm and in Trinidad and Tobago about 11 to 12 mm long shells . Due to the lack of a pelagic Veliger stage, the snail has a limited range and very strong local differentiation.
Natural enemies
One of the most important predators of the note snail is the Caribbean lobster ( Panulirus argus ), which can crack the snail's strong shell with its mandibles. Another enemy is the common octopus ( Octopus vulgaris ).
Human use and exposure
Voluta musica is collected for its case, which is sold as jewelry. In addition, the meat is eaten. Due to overfishing , the species is classified as endangered in Venezuela, among other places.
Individual evidence
- ^ C. Brüggemann (1838): The natural history in faithful illustrations and with a detailed description of the same. Eduard Eisenach publisher, Leipzig 1838. Die Weichthiere, p. 61. The real music or note snail. Voluta musica Linn.
- ↑ Carolus Linnaeus : Systema Naturae. 10th ed., Lars Salvius: Stockholm 1758, p. 729, 287. Voluta , p. 733. 370. Voluta Musica. V. testa fusiformi, anfractibus spinis obtusis, columella octoplicata. Habitat in O. Americae ad Jamaicam, Barbados.
- ↑ a b c d e Peter L. Perchade (1976): Voluta musica Linnaeus 1758 (Mollusca). A local marine mollusc of interest to geologists as a fine example of the evolutionary process ( Memento of the original from March 18, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Newsletter 1, The Geological Society Of Trinidad & Tobago.
- ↑ a b Rudo von Cosel (1976): Contribución al conocimiento del género Voluta Linné, 1758 (Prosobranchia) en la costa del Caribe de Colombia (PDF; 1.4 MB) . Boletín de investigaciones marinas y costeras 8 (Communications from the Instituto Colombo-Alemán de Investigaciones Científicas Punta de Betín), pp. 83-104.
- ↑ a b M. Salomé Rangel, Alejandro Tagliafico, Jeremy Mendoza, Luis Freites, José Silva, Abel Vásquez, Natividad Garcia (2011): population, reproductive and ecological aspects of the music volute Voluta musica (Caenogastropoda: Volutidae) in northeastern Venezuela ( PDF; 1.4 MB) . Pan-American Journal of Aquatic Sciences 6 (2), pp. 121-137.
