Turbinella laevigata

Turbinella laevigata, common name the Brazilian chank, is a species of very large sea snail with a gill and an operculum, a marine gastropod mollusk in the subfamily Turbinellinae of the family Turbinellidae.[2]

Turbinella laevigata
A live individual of Turbinella laevigata in situ
Two views of a shell of Turbinella laevigata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Neogastropoda
Family: Turbinellidae
Genus: Turbinella
Species:
T. laevigata
Binomial name
Turbinella laevigata
Anton, 1838[1]
Synonyms
  • Xancus laevigata (Anton, 1838)
  • Turbinella ovoidea Kiener, 1840
  • Xancus ovoidea (Kiener, 1840)
  • Turbinella rianae Delsaerdt, 1987

Subspecies

There are two subspecies of this species:

  • Turbinella laevigata laevigata Anton, 1838
  • Turbinella laevigata rianae Delsaerdt, 1986 (synonym : Turbinella rianae Delsaerdt, 1987)

Description

The shell of this species is thick and heavy, and can grow as large as 20 centimetres (8 in) in length.[3]

Distribution

This species is found in Brazil.

Life cycle

Turbinella laevigata produces egg capsules each of which has an average of 240 eggs. On average each capsule has 10 fertilized eggs with developing empbyos. The remaining 230 unfertilized eggs are nutritional eggs, whose purpose is to provide food for the developing embryos in the capsule.[4]

Human use

Turbinella laevigata is used as a zootherapeutical product. It is used as a treatment for sexual impotence in traditional Brazilian medicine in the northeast of Brazil.[5]

References
  1. (in German) Anton H. E. 1839. Verzeichniss der Conchylien. Halle, xvi + 110 pp. Turbinella laevigata is on the page 71.
  2. Rosenberg, G. (2010). Turbinella laevigata Anton, 1838. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=533539 on 2011-04-03
  3. Turbinella laevigata Anton, 1838. Malacolog 4.1.1. A Database of Western Atlantic Marine Mollusca, accessed 20 September 2009.
  4. Matthews-Cascon H., Rocha-Barreira C. de A., Meirelles C., Bigatti G. & Penchaszadeh P. (March–April) 2009. Description of the Ootheca of Turbinella laevigata (Mollusca, Gastropoda). Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology, 52(2): 359-364.
  5. Alves R. R. N. 2009. Fauna used in popular medicine in Northeast Brazil. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2009, 5:1. doi:10.1186/1746-4269-5-1
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