Drupella

Drupella
Drupella cornus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Family:	Muricidae
Subfamily:	Ergalataxinae
Genus:	Drupella Thiele, 1925
Type species
Drupa cornus Röding, 1798

Drupella is most commonly a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails. ^[1]

This genus was placed in the family Muricidae by Drivas & Jay, 1988 ^[2] and by Richmond, 1997. ^[3]

Description

Drupella has extremely long, thin lateral teeth. The shells and radulae vary considerably even within species, complicating the taxonomy of the genus. The colour of the shell aperture varies from white to purple. Some species show sexual dimorphism in their radulae, with males having larger rachidian teeth than females. ^[4]

Diet

Snails of this genus are specialist predators of coral polyps. ^[4]

Species

Species within the genus Drupella include:

• Drupella cornus (Röding, 1798) ^[5]
• Drupella eburnea (Küster, 1862) ^[6]
• Drupella fragum (Blainville, 1832) ^[7]
• Drupella minuta Fujioka, 1984 ^[8]
• Drupella rugosa (Born, 1778) ^[9]
• Drupella margariticola ^[10]

Species brought into synonymy

• Drupella cariosaWood: ^[11] synonym of Muricodrupa fenestrata (Blainville, 1832)
• Drupella fraga(Blainville, 1832) accepted as Drupella fragum(Blainville, 1832)
• Drupella ochrostoma(Blainville, 1832): ^[12] synonym of Pascula ochrostoma (Blainville, 1832)

References

1. Drupella Thiele, 1925 . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 18 December 2010.
2. Drivas, J. & Jay, M., 1988. Shells from Reunion. XVIII Fam. Cardiidae. Conchiglia, 19(232-233):16-17
3. Richmond M.D.(editor), 1997, A Guide to the Seashores of Eastern Africa and Western Indian Ocean Islands; Sida/Department for Research Cooperation, SAREC
4. Tan, K. S. (March 2000). "Species checklist of Muricidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) in the South China Sea" (PDF). The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 48 (8): 495–512.
5. Drupella cornus (Röding, 1798) . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 25 April 2010.
6. Drupella eburnea (Küster, 1862) . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 25 April 2010.
7. Drupella fragum (Blainville, 1832) . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 25 April 2010.
8. Drupella minuta Fujioka, 1984 . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 25 April 2010.
9. Drupella rugosa (Born, 1778) . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 25 April 2010.
10. MolluscaBase (2018). Drupella margariticola (Broderip, 1833). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=576817 on 2019-01-06
11. Drupella cariosa Wood . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 25 April 2010.
12. Drupella ochrostoma Tryon . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 25 April 2010.

• Taylor, J.D. (1973). Provisional list of the mollusca of Aldabra Atoll