Pigeon snails
Columbellidae | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mitrella carinata on the red alga Botryocladia pseudodichotoma |
||||||||||||
Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
Scientific name | ||||||||||||
Columbellidae | ||||||||||||
Swainson , 1840 |
The pigeon snails (Columbellidae) are a large family of exclusively marine snails .
The approximately 400 living species are mostly herbivorous or specialize in eating small, sessile animals . The first representatives of the Columbellidae appear in the fossil record as early as the Eocene ( Palaeogene , "Tertiary")
features
The housings are twisted on the right and have an adult size of about 2 mm to about 5 cm. The housing shapes range from egg-shaped to highly conical. The ornamentation is moderately pronounced; it ranges from almost smooth housings with clear streaking to strong ribs with flat knots. Many cases show eye-catching color samples. The foot is small to only moderately large; an operculum is usually present. The jacket forms a short siphon channel. The moderately long antennae sit on a relatively small head. The mantle cavity is remarkably long.
Way of life
The main focus of the distribution is in the tropical and subtropical waters. However, individual species also penetrated into colder seas (in the northern hemisphere to the Lofoten , in the southern hemisphere to New Zealand). Mostly they are shallow water inhabitants, pronounced deep sea forms are rare (max. Depth: 3360 m). They live on soft soils, sandy soils, rocks and coral debris. Here they graze on the algae growth, whereby small, sessile animals are usually also included. Other species have specialized in grazing hydrozoans. One species has specialized in eating eggs or egg layers from other snails.
Systematics
According to Bouchet & Rocroi (2005), the family is divided into two subfamilies:
- Columbellinae Swainson, 1840
- Atilinae Cossmann, 1901
literature
- Philippe Bouchet & Jean-Pierre Rocroi: Part 2. Working classification of the Gastropoda . Malacologia, 47: 239-283, Ann Arbor 2005, ISSN 0076-2997 .
- Marta J. de Maintenon: Phylogenetic analysis of the Columbellidae (Mollusca: Neogastropoda) and the evolution od herbivory from carnivory. Invertebrate Biology, 118: 258-288, Malden, Massachusetts 1999, ISSN 1077-8306 .
- Victor Millard: Classification of the Mollusca. A Classification of World Wide Mollusca . Rhine Road, South Africa 1997, ISBN 0-620-21261-6 .
- 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 .
Web links
- Hardy's Internet Guide to Marine Gastropods - Columbellidae
- IT IS
- Animal Diversity Web
- conchology.be (company website, but many, very nice pictures)