Ceramic vase
| Ceramic vase | ||||||||||||
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Housing from Vasum ceramicum |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Vasum ceramicum | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The ceramic vase ( Vasum ceramicum ) is a snail from the family of turbinellidae (genus Vasum ), which in the Indian Ocean is widespread. It feeds mainly on polychaetes (genus of annelids).
features
The large, thick and heavy snail shell of Vasum ceramicum has an elongated, conical to vase-like shape and reaches a length of about 6 to 13, sometimes up to 16 cm in adult snails. The whorls of the thread are studded with a single row of open spines that increase in size and are largest at the back of the whorl. The circumference of the body has several such rows of spines. Here the spines in the back row are largest, those at the base are the second largest, and the rest are of medium size. The entire bowl is covered with spiral cords. The former edges of the former case mouth often protrude as rough growth lines. The housing has a long siphon channel . The spindle has 3 strong folds and 7 to 10 strong spiny tubercles in each loop. The surface of the shell is white and gray or dark brown on the outside, the inside of the case mouth is usually white or pale brown. The shell is often covered with a lime crust, which hides its own shape.
distribution
Vasum ceramicum is distributed in the Indo-Pacific from the coasts of Tanzania , Madagascar , Sri Lanka via the Mascarene Islands and Indonesia to eastern Polynesia , north to Japan and south to Queensland and New Caledonia . The snail lives in the intertidal zone and a little below in depths of up to about 20 m on reefs.
food
Vasum ceramicum feeds on Vielborstern , wherein species of the family Eunicidae form a preferred prey.
Importance to humans
The snails are collected for their meat, which is both eaten and used as fishing bait. The house is used as a source of lime or as jewelry.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Alan G. Jarrett: Marine Shells of the Seychelles. Carole Green Publishing, Cambridge 2000. p. 87.
- ↑ a b Turbinellidae: Vasum ceramicum (Linnaeus, 1758) . 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. p. 606.
- ↑ JD Taylor (1984): The diet of Indo-Pacific Vasum (Gastropoda: Vasidae). Journal of Conchology 31, pp. 375-382.