Terebralia palustris

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Terebralia palustris
Terebralia palustris
Terebralia palustris
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Caenogastropoda
clade Sorbeoconcha
Superfamily:
Cerithioidea
Family:
Potamididae
Genus:
Terebralia
Species:
T. palustris
Binomial name
Terebralia palustris
(Linnaeus, 1767)
Synonyms[1]
  • Cerithium carinatum Perry, G., 1811
  • Potamides palustris (Linnaeus, 1767)
  • Strombus agnatus Gmelin, J.F., 1791
  • Strombus augustus Gmelin, J.F., 1791
  • Strombus crassum Lamarck, J.B.P.A. de, 1822
  • Strombus trisulcatus Forskål, P., 1775

Terebralia palustris,

mollusk in the family Potamididae.[1] This tropical species which inhabits mangrove environments of the Indo-West Pacific region,[2] has the widest geographic distribution amongst the potamidids [3] extending from eastern Africa to northern Australia. Terebralia palustris is the largest mangrove gastropod, with a maximum shell length of 190 mm recorded from Arnhem Land, Australia.[2]

Distribution

This species has the widest distribution range of any

Ryukyus to the Philippines and across Borneo, New Guinea and tropical Australia. Eastwards, T. palustris is found as far as Palau as well the New Hebrides and New Caledonia.[2]

Terebralia palustris from Liwa, Oman

The

Amirantes and Madagascar. Terebralia palustris also occurs along the tropical and subtropical East African coastline including Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique. The southern global distribution limit for this species is along the eastern subtropical coastline of South Africa. The northward extension of the African distribution is as far as the Red Sea.[2]

Description

a shell of Terebralia palustris

Shell

The shell is generally described as elongate, thick, solid and turreted. It comprises as many as 20 flat-sided whorls with the early whorls being sculptured with strong colabral axial ribs. Spiral incised lines appear on the ninth or tenth whorl. These gradually increase in number to three.[2] Growth is determinate for this species and full maturity is indicated by a thickened aperture margin. The size of mature adult snails varies between populations and in some cases maturity has been reported for individuals at only 45 mm total shell length.[2]

Anatomy

The head and foot are typically dark brown while the snout and tips of the

ciliated groove on the right side of the foot leads to a large, bulbous white ovipositor which is situated internally near the base of the foot.[2]

The hemocyanin of this species was analyzed by Lieb et al. in 2010.[4] Its mega-hemocyanin have unusually high oxygen affinities.[4]

Ecology

It lives in the mud in mangrove forests.[4] Terebralia palustris is a predominantly mangrove-associated species.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Terebralia palustris (Linnaeus, 1767). Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 17 May 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Houbrick R. S. (1999) Systematic review and functional morphology of the mangrove snails Terebralia and Telescopium (Potamididae; Prosobranchia). Malacologica 33: 289-338.
  3. ^ Pape E., Muthumbi A., Kamanu C. P., Vanreusel A. (2008) Size-dependent distribution and feeding habits of Terebralia palustris in mangrove habitats of Gazi Bay, Kenya. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 76: 797-808.
  4. ^
    doi:10.1186/1742-9994-7-14
    .
  5. doi:10.1186/s40555-015-0120-0
    .
  • Dautzenberg, Ph. (1929). Contribution à l'étude de la faune de Madagascar: Mollusca marina testacea. Faune des colonies françaises, III(fasc. 4). Société d'Editions géographiques, maritimes et coloniales: Paris. 321–636, plates IV-VII pp.
  • Steyn, D.G. & Lussi, M. (1998) Marine Shells of South Africa. An Illustrated Collector’s Guide to Beached Shells. Ekogilde Publishers, Hartebeespoort, South Africa, ii + 264 pp. page(s): 38
  • Reid, D.G., Dyal, P., Lozouet, P., Glaubrecht, M. & Williams, S.T. (2008) Mudwhelks and mangroves: the evolutionary history of an ecological association (Gastropoda: Potamididae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 47: 680-699

External links

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