Terebra subulata

Terebra subulata is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Terebridae, the auger snails.[1]

Terebra subulata
Shells of Terebra subulata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Neogastropoda
Family: Terebridae
Genus: Terebra
Species:
T. subulata
Binomial name
Terebra subulata
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms[1]
  • Buccinum subulatum Linnaeus, 1767 (original combination)
  • Terebra fusca Perry, 1811
  • Terebrum tigreum Montfort, 1810
  • Vertagus subulatus (Linnaeus, 1767)

Description

Shells of Terebra subulata can reach a length of 115 mm (4.5 in) and a width of 16 mm (0.63 in).[2] They have about 25 well-rounded whorls and a pointed spire. The aperture is very small and the outer lip is thin. The columella is twisted and the fasciole small. The anterior canal is truncated and curved. The shell is sculptured with fine axial threads and irregular weak spiral grooves, and the area below the suture raised into a spiral band. The color of the shell is cream with two rows of dark brown square blotches on the early whorls and three rows on the body whorl.[3]

Distribution and habitat

This species can be found from the coast of East Africa and Madagascar to Eastern Polynesia, Japan, Hawaii, and Australia, at depth of 0 to 10 m.[3]

Diet

Terebra subulata feeds on sand-dwelling Polychaeta and Enteropneusta. The prey is stung with the snail's radula teeth and paralysed by a venom, which is toxic to annelids and nematodes, but harmless to vertebrates.[4]

References
  1. Terebra subulata (Linnaeus, 1767). Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 10 January 2019.
  2. George Washington Tryon (1885). Manual of Conchology, structural and systematic, with illustrations of the species, vol. VII; Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. T[erebra] subulata Linn., p. 10.
  3. R. Venkitesan, A. K. Mukherjee (2012). Contribution to the knowledge on Indian marine molluscs: Family Terebridae. Records of the Zoological Survey of India 111 (3), pp. 49–77, here p. 69.
  4. Imperial, Julita S; Watkins, Maren; Chen, Ping; Hillyard, David R; Cruz, Lourdes J; Olivera, Baldomero M (2003). "The augertoxins: biochemical characterization of venom components from the toxoglossate gastropod Terebra subulata". Toxicon. 42 (4): 391–398. doi:10.1016/S0041-0101(03)00169-7. PMID 14505939.
  • Bratcher T. & Cernohorsky W.O. (1987). Living terebras of the world. A monograph of the recent Terebridae of the world. American Malacologists, Melbourne, Florida & Burlington, Massachusetts. 240 pp.
  • Terryn, Y. (2007). Terebridae: A Collectors Guide. Conchbooks & Natural Art. 59 pp + plates
  • Severns, M. (2011). Shells of the Hawaiian Islands - The Sea Shells. Conchbooks, Hackenheim. 564 pp
  • Liu, J.Y. [Ruiyu] (ed.). (2008). Checklist of marine biota of China seas. China Science Press. 1267 pp.
  • Steyn, D. G.; Lussi, M. (2005). Offshore Shells of Southern Africa: A pictorial guide to more than 750 Gastropods. Published by the authors. pp. i–vi, 1–289.
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