Diodora cayenensis | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Gastropoda |
Subclass: | Vetigastropoda |
Order: | Lepetellida |
Family: | Fissurellidae |
Genus: | Diodora |
Species: | D. cayenensis |
Binomial name | |
Diodora cayenensis | |
Synonyms | |
Diodora cayenensis, the Cayenne keyhole limpet, is a species of small to medium-sized sea snail or limpet, a western Atlantic marine prosobranch gastropod mollusk in the family Fissurellidae, the keyhole limpets. [2]
This species is named after Cayenne, the capital of French Guiana. The spelling using one "n" is original and is therefore retained.
The Cayenne keyhole limpet is found from New Jersey south through the West Indies to Brazil; in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Caribbean Sea; off the Canary Islands.
This shell of this species can varies from 15 mm to 50 mm in size and is shaped like a low cone with a small, subcentral keyhole-like opening or orifice on the top of the shell. The shell has an external sculpture of many radiating ribs. Internally, the keyhole opening is outlined by a truncate callus, which has a deep pit on its posterior edge.
The external coloration of the shell varies from white to pinkish gray or brown sometimes with faint rays, and the interior of the shell is white to gray.
This species of limpet lives in inlets and offshore waters attached to rocks or shells and is occasionally found washed up on sound and ocean beaches.
The Cayenne keyhole limpet is a herbivore, and uses its radula to scrape algae from rocks. Its powerful foot creates strong suction to keep waves from washing it off the rocks.
Water for respiration and excretion is drawn in under the edge of the shell and exits through the "keyhole" near the peak.
The eggs of this species are yellow and are stuck to rocks. The young hatch and crawl away.
Certain crab species, such as stone crabs (Menippe spp.) and spider crabs (Libinia spp.), are opportunistic feeders that may target D. cayenensis. Crabs use their powerful claws to crush the limpet's shell and access its flesh.
Diodora cayenensis primarily feeds on algae, using its radula to scrape these organisms off surfaces such as rocks and coral. It consumes a variety of algal species, contributing to the regulation of algal populations within its habitat.
Diodora cayenensis competes with other herbivorous organisms, such as other limpet species, sea urchins, and herbivorous fish, for access to algae. Competition for food resources may influence the distribution and abundance of D. cayenensis within its habitat.
The Cayenne keyhole limpet reproduces via broadcast spawning, a form of external sexual reproduction typically done by sessile organisms. Because intertidal zones are a constantly changing environment, D. cayenensis release large quantities of eggs into the water in order to increase fertilization rates [3] and in turn the number of offspring. As a reproductive strategy, broadcast spawning relies heavily on turbulent stirring processes in the flow to bring together compatible gametes for fertilization to happen. [4]
Other marine organisms use the ridges of Diodora cayenensis as shelter from predators. D. cayenensis also help filter the ocean water and free it from some suspended sediment, nutrients, and other pollutants. The limpets are edible. [5]
Limpets are a group of aquatic snails with a conical shell shape (patelliform) and a strong, muscular foot. This general category of conical shell is known as "patelliform" (dish-shaped). Existing within the class Gastropoda, limpets are a polyphyletic group.
Leptograpsus variegatus, known as the purple rock crab, is a marine large-eyed crab of the family Grapsidae, found in southern subtropical Indo-Pacific Oceans. It grows to around 50 millimetres (2.0 in) shell width. It is the only species in the genus Leptograpsus.
Fissurellidae, common name the keyhole limpets and slit limpets, is a taxonomic family of small to medium-sized limpet-like sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Vetigastropoda.
Diodora is a genus of small to medium-sized keyhole limpet in the family Fissurellidae.
Diodora graeca, the Greek keyhole limpet, is a sea snail or limpet, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Fissurellidae, the keyhole limpets.
Diodora italica, the keyhole limpet or Italian keyhole limpet, is a sea snail or limpet, a marine prosobranch gastropod mollusk in the family Fissurellidae, the keyhole limpets.
Fissurella is a genus of small to medium-sized sea snails or limpets, marine gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Fissurellinae of the family Fissurellidae, the keyhole limpets.
Scutellastra cochlear is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Patellidae, one of the families of true limpets. It is commonly known as the snail patella, the pear limpet or the spoon limpet and is native to South Africa. It often grows in association with the crustose coralline alga Spongites yendoi and a filamentous red alga which it cultivates in a garden. It was first described by the malacologist Ignaz von Born in 1778 as Patella cochlear.
Diodora aspera, also known as the rough keyhole limpet, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Fissurellidae, the keyhole limpets. Although similar in appearance to a common limpet, it has a hole near the apex of its shell, and is only distantly related. It often has a scaled polychaete worm Arctonoe vittata living inside its shell as a commensal. In the event that it is attacked by a starfish, it extends flaps of mantle to defend itself, and the worm also helps drive the predator away.
Diodora funiculata is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Fissurellidae, the keyhole limpets.
Diodora gibberula is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Fissurellidae, the keyhole limpets.
Diodora minuta is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Fissurellidae, the keyhole limpets.
Diodora viridula is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Fissurellidae, the keyhole limpets.
Lucapina is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Fissurellidae, the keyhole limpets.
Vasula deltoidea is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.
Crepipatella dilatata is a species of sea snail described by Lamarck. It is a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Calyptraeidae, the slipper snails or slipper limpets, cup-and-saucer snails, and hat snails.
Dendrofissurella is a monotypic genus of minute deepwater keyhole limpets, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Fissurellidae, the keyhole limpets and slit limpets.
The subfamily Emarginulinae, common name keyhole limpets and slit limpets, is a taxonomic subfamily of limpet-like sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Fissurellidae, the keyhole limpets and slit limpets.
The subfamily Fissurellinae, common name the keyhole limpets and slit limpets, is a taxonomic subfamily of limpet-like sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Fissurellidae.