Cymatium femorale

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Cymatium femorale
Cymatium femorale.jpg
Apertural view of the shell
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Littorinimorpha
Family: Cymatiidae
Genus: Cymatium
Species:
C. femorale
Binomial name
Cymatium femorale
Synonyms [1]
  • Lotorium lotor Montfort, 1810
  • Murex femoraleLinnaeus, 1758
  • Septa triangularis Perry, 1811
  • Triton lotorium Lamarck, 1816

Cymatium femorale is a species of predatory sea snail in the family Cymatiidae. [1] Its shell is commonly known as the angular triton shell and is frequently found in the West Indies. [2]

Contents

Description

The maximum recorded shell length is 175–212 mm. [3] and an angular shell. It comes in a variety of colors, including brown, white, and gray. [4] It has about 7 whorls in its shell with each whorl having two prominent axial varices forming sharp ridges. [5] This shell also has spiral ridges patterned with coarse knobs that form large nodules at the lip of the shell. Its diet consists of other marine invertebrates, primarily clams, sea urchins, and other snails. It uses a toothed tongue-like structure (radula), to break through the shells of its prey. It is a broadcast spawner. [6]

Distribution

This species occurs in the Western Atlantic, particularly around the eastern Caribbean Antillean islands, and extends southward to Bahia, Brazil. It is considered a common shell in the West Indies. [2]

Habitat

Cymatium femorale inhabits shallow to moderately deep marine waters, ranging from a minimum recorded depth of 0.6 m [3] to a maximum recorded depth of 150 m. [3]

References

  1. 1 2 Cymatium femorale (Linnaeus, 1758) . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 4 December 2018.
  2. 1 2 Abbot, Robert Tucker; Morris, Percy (1995). Peterson Field Guide: Shells of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and the West Indies. Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN   0618164391.
  3. 1 2 3 Welch J. J. (2010). "The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". PLoS ONE 5(1): e8776. doi : 10.1371/journal.pone.0008776 .
  4. Ronny (2024-10-21). "Angular Triton – Cymatium femorale" . Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  5. "Angular Triton: Cymatium femorale (Linnaeus, 1758)". Seahorse and Co. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  6. "Cymatium femorale, Angular triton". www.sealifebase.se. Retrieved 2025-11-11.