| Struthiolaria papulosa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dorsal view of a Struthiolaria papulosa shell | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
| Order: | Littorinimorpha |
| Family: | Struthiolariidae |
| Genus: | Struthiolaria |
| Species: | S. papulosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Struthiolaria papulosa (Martyn, 1784) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Struthiolaria papulosa, whose common name is the ostrich foot snail or ostrich foot shell, is a species of medium-sized sea snail native to New Zealand. [1]
Struthiolaria papulosa has an average body length of 77 mm, a body volume of 26.9 cm3 and a wet body mass of 47 g. [2] The shell is dextrally coiled. [2] The upper part of the shell is small and cone-shaped made of two swirls, called the protoconch. On this protoconch there are fine lines very close to each other. [3] The opening of the shell has an oval shape with thick, turned-out and wavy lips with a thickened area at the top of the opening. [3]
S. papulosa is native to New Zealand but can also be found in certain places along the south and east coast of Australia. [2] In New Zealand, S. papulosa is found along the coast in both the North and South Island. [4] [2]
S. papulosa prefers shallow salt water or on sand flats in sheltered or open coasts. [5]
The life cycle of S. papulosa is divided in four stages: egg, larva, juvenile and adult. [4] Adult S. papulosa release their sperm and eggs into the water, which can take up to 1 hour. [6] Fertilization occurs externally, after which the fertilized egg starts developing. The egg starts forming a larval shell 9-10 hours after fertilization and, around 3 days later, the larvae grow into juvenile sea snails. [4] S. papulosa live an average of 5 years but can live up to 25 years. [6]
S. papulosa is a filter feeder that feeds on algae, plankton and other small marine animals. [6] It filters suspended matter from the water with a specialized filtering structure, or uses its tooth-lined tongue to graze seaweed from the bottom of the sea. [7]
S. papulosa has many predators including fish, birds and reptiles. [4] The egg and larva stage are eaten by many plankton feeders but the most common S. papulosa predator is Asteroidea, especially starfish. [8] S. papulosa protects itself from being eaten by Asteroidea by repeatedly doing somersaults. [8]
Although the origin of this snail is unclear, it is believed that S. errata is a possible ancestor. [3]