Onustus caribaeus

Onustus caribaeus is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Xenophoridae, the carrier shells.[1]

Onustus caribaeus
Onustus caribaeus shells
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Littorinimorpha
Family: Xenophoridae
Genus: Onustus
Species:
O. caribaeus
Binomial name
Onustus caribaeus
Synonyms[1]

Description

The anatomy of O. Caribaeus. is very similar to all members of the Xenophoridae family. Their shells have a flat bottom and a short conical spiral on top.[2] They are known for their ability to camouflage by attaching substrates like pebbles, sand, empty shells, and even coral to the top of their shells.[3] The specifics of how this is done are not known.[4] However, we know that these foreign objects are fused to the shells in all different conformations, radially, laterally, or symmetrically as the shell grows.[5] The shells can reach a maximum height of 45 mm, in average 37 mm. The diameter of the base reaches a maximum length of 88 mm, in average 60 mm. The colour of the dorsum is yellowish-white.[6] Like other snails, O. Caribaeus have a radula, used for scraping detritus and other substances off of substrates to feed on, and a muscular foot used for locomotion.[7]

Distribution

Onustus caribaeus is distributed in the North-eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea and along the Atlantic coast of Brazil between 35m and 640m (mostly deeper than 100m).[6]

References
  1. Onustus caribaeus (Petit de la Saussaye, 1857). WoRMS (2010). Onustus caribaeus (Petit de la Saussaye, 1857). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=468051 on 9 July 2010 .
  2. "The Adaptations and Relationships of the Xenophoridae (Mesogastropoda)". Journal of Molluscan Studies. December 1958. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.mollus.a064812. ISSN 1464-3766.
  3. Beu, A. G. (June 1977). "New Zealand Cenozoic Gastropods of the genus Xenophora Fischer, 1807". Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 7 (2): 229–241. doi:10.1080/03036758.1977.10427161. ISSN 0303-6758.
  4. Crippa, Gaia; Pasinetti, Giovanni; Dapiaggi, Monica (October 2020). "How did the carrier shell Xenophora crispa (König, 1825) build its shell? Evidence from the Recent and fossil record". Lethaia. 53 (4): 439–451. doi:10.1111/let.12367. hdl:2434/701063. ISSN 0024-1164. S2CID 213541526.
  5. Feinstein, Noah (1998). "Learning from the Collector: A Survey of Azooxanthellate Corals Affixed by Xenophora (Gastropoda: Xenophoridae), with an Analysis and Discussion of Attachment Patterns". Nautilus. 112: 73–83.
  6. Kreipl, K. & Alf, A. (1999): Recent Xenophoridae. 148 pp. incl. 28 color plts. ConchBooks, Hackenheim, ISBN 3-925919-26-0.
  7. Arquivos de Zoologia. Universidade de Sao Paulo, Agencia USP de Gestao da Informacao Academica (AGUIA). doi:10.11606/issn.2176-7793.
  1. Onustus caribaeus (Petit de la Saussaye, 1857). WoRMS (2010). Onustus caribaeus (Petit de la Saussaye, 1857). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=468051 on 9 July 2010 .
  2. J. E. MORTON, THE ADAPTATIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS OF THE XENOPHORIDAE (MESOGASTROPODA), Journal of Molluscan Studies, Volume 33, Issue 3, December 1958, Pages 89–101, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.mollus.a064812
  3. A. G. Beu (1977) New Zealand Cenozoic Gastropods of the genus Xenophora Fischer, 1807, Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 7:2, 229-241, doi:10.1080/03036758.1977.10427161
  4. Crippa, Pasinetti, G., & Dapiaggi, M. (2020). How did the carrier shell Xenophora crispa (König, 1825) build its shell? Evidence from the Recent and fossil record. Lethaia, 53(4), 439–451. https://doi.org/10.1111/let.12367
  5. Feinstein, & Cairns, S. D. (1998). Learning from the collector: A survey of azooxanthellate corals affixed by Xenophora (Gastropoda: Xenophoridae), with an analysis and discussion of attachment patterns. The Nautilus (Philadelphia).
  6. Kreipl, K. & Alf, A. (1999): Recent Xenophoridae. 148 pp. incl. 28 color plts. ConchBooks, Hackenheim, ISBN 3-925919-26-0
  7. Arquivos de zoologia. (1967). Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo.


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