| Callianax biplicata | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
| Order: | Neogastropoda |
| Family: | Olividae |
| Genus: | Callianax |
| Species: | C. biplicata |
| Binomial name | |
| Callianax biplicata Sowerby, 1825 | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Callianax biplicata, common names the purple dwarf olive, purple olive shell, or purple olivella is a species of small predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Olividae, the olives. [1]
Callianax biplicata snails are found in the Eastern Pacific Ocean coasts from British Columbia, Canada to Baja California, Mexico. [2]
This species is common on sandy substrates intertidally and subtidally, in bays and the outer coast. [2]
These snails are carnivorous or omnivorous sand-burrowers.
This shell of this species is quite solid, and large for an Olivella, with adult shells ranging from 20 mm to 27 mm in length, about one inch. The shell is smooth, shiny, and is an elongated oval in shape. The shell is often some shade of greyish purple, but it can also be whitish, tan, or dark brown. On the darker color forms there is often some rich yellow above the suture on the spire.
At the anterior end of the long narrow aperture there is a siphonal notch, from which the siphon of the living animal protrudes.
Native people of central and southern California used the shell of this species to make decorative beads for at least the last 9,000 years. [3] Such beads have been discovered in archaeological contexts as far inland as Idaho and Arizona. [4] Within the past 1,000 years these beads began to be manufactured in large quantities on southern California's Santa Barbara Channel Islands, indicating that they were used for shell money. [5] The historic Chumash people called them anchum. [6]
Shell money is a medium of exchange similar to coin money and other forms of commodity money, and was once commonly used in many parts of the world. Shell money usually consisted of whole or partial sea shells, often worked into beads or otherwise shaped. The use of shells in trade began as direct commodity exchange, the shells having use-value as body ornamentation. The distinction between beads as commodities and beads as money has been the subject of debate among economic anthropologists.
Olive snails, also known as olive shells and olives, scientific name Olividae, are a taxonomic family of medium to large predatory sea snails with smooth, shiny, elongated oval-shaped shells.
The Cassidae are a taxonomic family of medium-sized, large, and sometimes very large sea snails commonly called helmet snails or bonnet snails. These are marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Tonnoidea and the clade Littorinimorpha.
Calliostoma is a genus of small to medium-sized sea snails with gills and an operculum, marine gastropod molluscs within the family Calliostomatidae, the Calliostoma top snails. Previously this genus was placed within the family Trochidae. Calliostoma is the type genus of the family Calliostomatidae.
Cellana is a genus of sea snails or limpets, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Nacellidae, the true limpets.
Olivellinae, are a subfamily of small predatory sea snails with smooth, shiny, elongated oval-shaped shells, in the family Olividae. The shells sometimes show muted but attractive colors, and may have some patterning.
Pseudolividae is a taxonomic family of medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Olivoidea.
Olivella, common name the dwarf olives, is a genus of small predatory sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the subfamily Olivellinae of the family Olividae, the olives. Olivella is the type genus of the family.
Crassispira incrassata is a species of predatory sea snail in the family Pseudomelatomidae. This species is endemic through the Sea of Cortez, ranging from Western Mexico to Ecuador in intertidal zones. First described in 1834 by George Brettingham Sowerby I, C. incrassata was reclassified by William John Swainson as the holotype specimen for the Crassispira genus; though its current taxonomic rank is unclear. The shell has a dark colored, coiled pattern covered in black periostracum.
Crassispira turricula, common name the turriculated pleurotoma, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pseudomelatomidae.
Vitularia salebrosa is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.
Callianax alectona is a species of small sea snail, marine gastropod mollusk in the family Olividae, the olives.
Olivella columellaris is a species of small sea snail, marine gastropod mollusk in the subfamily Olivellinae, in the family Olividae, the olives. Species in the genus Olivella are commonly called dwarf olives. With the very similar Olivella semistriata it forms the subgenus Pachyoliva. Both species are suspension feeders. They use unique appendages of the propodium to deploy mucus nets which capture suspended particles from the backwash on sandy beaches of the tropical eastern Pacific.
Olivella fuscocincata is a species of dwarf olive sea snail, marine gastropod mollusk.
Olivella semistriata is a species of small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Olividae, the olives. Species in the genus Olivella are commonly called dwarf olives With the very similar Olivella columellaris it forms the subgenus Pachyoliva. Both species are suspension feeders. They use unique appendages of the propodium to deploy mucus nets which capture suspended particles from the backwash on sandy beaches of the tropical eastern Pacific. Olivella semistriata is a swash-surfer; the snails use their expanded foot as an underwater sail to follow the tidal movement of the backwash zone in which they feed.
Callianax strigata is a species of small sea snail, marine gastropod mollusk in the family Olividae, the olives.
Photinastoma is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Calliostomatidae within the superfamily Trochoidea, the top snails, turban snails and their allies.
Pachyoliva is a subgenus of small sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the genus Olivella, the dwarf olives, within the family Olividae, the olives. Species in this subgenus inhabit soft sediments in the intertidal and subtidal zones of sandy beaches of the Panamic faunal province, that is, the west coast of the Americas from Baja California to north Peru.
Anacithara osumiensis is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Horaiclavidae.
Callianax is a genus of small predatory sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the subfamily Olivellinae of the family Olividae, the olives.
