Hinea brasiliana

Last updated

Hinea brasiliana
Hinea brasiliana shell.png
An apertural view of a shell of Hinea brasiliana by Henry Suter
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Family: Planaxidae
Genus: Hinea
Species:
H. brasiliana
Binomial name
Hinea brasiliana
(Lamarck, 1822) [1]
Synonyms [2]
  • Buccinum brasilianumLamarck, 1822
  • Planaxis mollisSowerby, 1823
  • Planaxis brazilianus(Lamarck, 1822)

Hinea brasiliana, common name the yellow-coated clusterwink, is a species of small sea snail, a gastropod mollusc in the family Planaxidae. [3] It is native to New Zealand and southeastern Australia where it is found in the littoral zone of rocky shores. It is one of only a few sea snail species able to bioluminesce.

Contents

Taxonomy

This species was described by under the name Buccinum brasilianum by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in 1822 based on the shell from the collection of William Paterson. [1] The specific name brasiliana refer to the Brazil, because Lamarck thought, that it lives in the coast of Brazil. [1] Unfortunately it does not live there. [2] John Edward Gray moved this species to the newly created genus Hinea .

Description

The shell of Hinea brasiliana is thick and heavy and grows to a length of about 21 mm (0.8 in). It is narrowly conical, either smooth or with shallow grooves between the approximately six spiral whorls. The aperture is small and constricted by a callus and the columella, the central structural axis, is thick. The shell is thin at the edge of the aperture but thickens rapidly away from the edge and this thickened part is marked with weak raised ridges known as lirae. There is a horny operculum which closes the shell when the soft parts are retracted inside. The colour of the shell is white both inside and out. The outer surface is protected at first by a yellowish-brown periostracum which eventually gets worn away. [4]

Distribution and habitat

In Australia, the range of Hinea brasiliana extends from the Burnett River in Queensland southwards to Mount Gambier in South Australia. In New Zealand it is found in the North Island and is also present on Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island and the Kermadec Islands. [5] It is found in the mid-literal zone of rocky shores, among boulders and rubble. It prefers high-energy shores but avoids the most exposed locations with high wave action. [4] It is very common in Australia, so much so that the empty shells of dead snails form much of the shell debris washed up on beaches. [6]

Behaviour

When the tide is out, these snails tend to cluster together in moist places, hiding in crevices or under rocks. As soon as the tide comes in, they disperse to graze on microalgae. As in other members of the family Planaxidae, fertilisation is internal, and the embryos are retained in a brood chamber located behind the female's head. They are liberated into the sea and become planktonic at the veliger larval stage. [7]

When disturbed, Hinea brasiliana emits a series of short flashes of bluish-green light. Impact with a fast-moving object brings on a more intense bioluminescent response. The light is produced from the mantle tissue and shines through the pale translucent shell, which acts to diffuse the light so that the whole shell glows. The light may serve to startle or dazzle a potential predator, and is emitted while the soft parts of the snail remain protected by its shell. It has been found that all other wavelengths of light are transmitted through the shell material and it is only the blue-green wavelength that is selectively diffused, effectively amplifying it and making its originator seem larger. [8] The diffusion through the calcified shell is more efficient than through the best comparable commercial diffusers. As well as scaring away a persistent attacker such as a crab, the light might have a further defensive function in attracting a larger creature to prey on the crab, in the "burglar alarm" effect. [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>Dicathais</i> Genus of gastropods

Dicathais is a genus of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Muricidae, the rock snails. This genus is monotypic; the only species in it is Dicathais orbita, common name the white rock shell or cart-rut shell, found round the coasts of Australia and New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Planaxidae</span> Family of gastropods

Planaxidae, commonly called planaxids or clusterwinks, are a taxonomic family of small and minute sea snails, pantropical marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Cerithoidea. They live on rocky shores in the littoral zone of the tropics and subtropics.

Annaperenna verrucosa, common name the warty ranella, is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Bursidae, known as the frog shells.

<i>Hinea</i> Genus of gastropods

Hinea is a genus of small sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Planaxidae.

<i>Conus acutangulus</i> Species of sea snail

Conus acutangulus, common name the sharp-angled cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.

<i>Austrocochlea</i> Genus of gastropods

Austrocochlea is a genus of medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Trochidae, the top snails, also known as top shells.

<i>Merica elegans</i> Species of gastropod

Merica elegans, common name the elegant nutmeg, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cancellariidae, the nutmeg snails.

<i>Pardalinops testudinaria</i> Species of gastropod

Pardalinops testudinaria, common name : the tortoise dove shell, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Columbellidae, the dove snails.

<i>Pyrene obtusa</i> Species of gastropod

Pyrene obtusa is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Columbellidae, the dove snails.

<i>Chicoreus capucinus</i> Species of gastropod

The mangrove murex is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.

Poropteron uncinarius is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.

<i>Harpa amouretta</i> Species of gastropod

Harpa amouretta, common name the lesser harp, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Harpidae, the harp snails.

<i>Trochus maculatus</i> Species of gastropod

Trochus maculatus, common name the maculated top shell, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Trochidae, the top snails.

<i>Hinea fasciata</i> Species of gastropod

Hinea fasciata is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Planaxidae

<i>Angiola</i> Genus of gastropods

Angiola is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Planaxidae.

<i>Planaxis</i> Genus of gastropods

Planaxis is a genus of small sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Planaxidae.

<i>Ovula costellata</i> Species of gastropod

Ovula costellata is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Ovulidae, the ovulids, cowry allies or false cowries.

<i>Nassarius pyrrhus</i> Species of gastropod

Nassarius pyrrhus, common name the red-banded nassa, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Nassariidae, the nassa mud snails or dog whelks.

Hinea longispira is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Planaxidae.

<i>Conuber conicum</i> Species of gastropod

Conuber conicum, the conical moon snail, is a species of predatory sea snail, in the family Naticidae, the moon snails. It was first described in 1822 as Natica conica by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Lamarck J.-B. (1822). Histoire naturelle des animaux sans vertèbres , 7: page 272.
  2. 1 2 Suter H. (1913). Manual of the New Zealand Mollusca. Wellington, 1120 pp. page 194, plate 38, fig. 29.
  3. Rosenberg, Gary (2014). "Hinea brasiliana (Lamarck, 1822)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 2014-12-21.
  4. 1 2 Beechey, Des (2008). "Hinea brasiliana (Lamarck, 1822)". The Seashells of New South Wales. Retrieved 2014-12-21.
  5. Powell A. W. B. (1979). New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand. ISBN   0-00-216906-1.
  6. Australian Shells: With Related Animals Living in the Sea, in Freshwater and on the Land. Georgian House. 1962. p. 81.
  7. Beechey, Des (2008). "Family Planaxidae". The Seashells of New South Wales. Retrieved 2014-12-21.
  8. Deheyn, Dimitri D.; Wilson, Nerida G. (2010). "Bioluminescent signals spatially amplified by wavelength-specific diffusion through the shell of a marine snail". Proceedings of the Royal Society. 278 (1715): 2112–2121. doi:10.1098/rspb.2010.2203. PMC   3107627 . PMID   21159673.
  9. Gill, Victoria (2010-12-15). "Snails flash a green alarm light". BBC: EarthNews. Retrieved 2014-12-22.