Terebralia palustris

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Terebralia palustris
Terebralia palustris 2.png
Terebralia palustris
Terebralia palustris.jpg
Terebralia palustris
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Family: Potamididae
Genus: Terebralia
Species:
T. palustris
Binomial name
Terebralia palustris
(Linnaeus, 1767)
Synonyms [1]
  • Cerithium carinatumPerry, G., 1811
  • Potamides palustris(Linnaeus, 1767)
  • Strombus agnatusGmelin, J.F., 1791
  • Strombus augustusGmelin, J.F., 1791
  • Strombus crassumLamarck, J.B.P.A. de, 1822
  • Strombus trisulcatusForskål, P., 1775

Terebralia palustris, common name the giant mangrove whelk, is a species of brackish-water snail, a gastropod mollusk in the family Potamididae. [1] This tropical species which inhabits mangrove environments of the Indo-West Pacific region, [2] has the widest geographic distribution amongst the potamidids [3] extending from eastern Africa to northern Australia. Terebralia palustris is the largest mangrove gastropod, with a maximum shell length of 190 mm recorded from Arnhem Land, Australia. [2]

Contents

Distribution

This species has the widest distribution range of any Terebralia species. [2] Its Western Pacific distribution extends south from the Ryukyus to the Philippines and across Borneo, New Guinea and tropical Australia. Eastwards, T. palustris is found as far as Palau as well the New Hebrides and New Caledonia. [2]

Terebralia palustris from Liwa, Oman TerebraliapalustrisOman.jpg
Terebralia palustris from Liwa, Oman

The Indian Ocean occurrence of Terebralia palustris includes mangrove habitats throughout Indonesia and regions of South East Asia including India and Ceylon. The species has also been reported from the Andaman Islands, Nicobar, the Maldives, Mauritius, the Seychelles, the Amirantes and Madagascar. Terebralia palustris also occurs along the tropical and subtropical East African coastline including Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique. The southern global distribution limit for this species is along the eastern subtropical coastline of South Africa. The northward extension of the African distribution is as far as the Red Sea. [2]

Description

a shell of Terebralia palustris Terebralia palustris shell.png
a shell of Terebralia palustris

Shell

The shell is generally described as elongate, thick, solid and turreted. It comprises as many as 20 flat-sided whorls with the early whorls being sculptured with strong colabral axial ribs. Spiral incised lines appear on the ninth or tenth whorl. These gradually increase in number to three. [2] Growth is determinate for this species and full maturity is indicated by a thickened aperture margin. The size of mature adult snails varies between populations and in some cases maturity has been reported for individuals at only 45 mm total shell length. [2]

Anatomy

The head and foot are typically dark brown while the snout and tips of the cephalic tentacles are black. In females, a ciliated groove on the right side of the foot leads to a large, bulbous white ovipositor which is situated internally near the base of the foot. [2]

The hemocyanin of this species was analyzed by Lieb et al. in 2010. [4] Its mega-hemocyanin have unusually high oxygen affinities. [4]

Ecology

It lives in the mud in mangrove forests. [4] Terebralia palustris is a predominantly mangrove-associated species. [5]

Related Research Articles

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

Potamididae, common name potamidids are a family of small to large brackish water snails that live on mud flats, mangroves and similar habitats. They are amphibious gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Cerithioidea.

<i>Tonna perdix</i> Species of gastropod

Tonna perdix, common name the partridge tun, is a species of very large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tonnidae, the tun shells.

Palustris is a Latin word meaning "swampy" or "marshy", and may refer to:

<i>Littoraria angulifera</i> Species of gastropod

Littoraria angulifera or the mangrove periwinkle is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Littorinidae, the winkles.

<i>Clavus pusilla</i> Species of gastropod

Clavus pusilla is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Drilliidae.

<i>Rochia virgata</i> Species of gastropod

Rochia virgata, common name the striped top shell, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Tegulidae.

<i>Drupa morum</i> Species of gastropod

Drupa morum, common name the purple drupe, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.

<i>Synaptocochlea stellata</i> Species of gastropod

Synaptocochlea stellata is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Trochidae, the top snails.

<i>Priotrochus obscurus</i> Species of gastropod

Priotrochus obscurus is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Trochidae, the top snails.

<i>Cerithidea decollata</i> Species of gastropod

Cerithidea decollata, common name the truncated mangrove snail, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Potamididae.

<i>Pirenella microptera</i> Species of gastropod

Pirenella microptera is a species of snail, a brackish-water gastropod mollusk in the family Potamididae.

<i>Cerithideopsis scalariformis</i> Species of gastropod

Cerithideopsis scalariformis, commonly known as the ladder hornsnail, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Potamididae. This amphibious species occurs in the western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. The maximum recorded shell length is 33 mm (1.3 in).

<i>Cerithideopsilla conica</i> Species of gastropod

Cerithideopsilla conica is a species of small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Potamididae.

<i>Telescopium telescopium</i> Species of gastropod

Telescopium telescopium, commonly known as the telescope snail, is a species of snail in the horn snail family Potamididae found in mangrove habitats in the Indo-Pacific. They are large snails that can grow up to 8 to 10 cm in length and are easily recognizable by their cone-shaped shell.

<i>Terebralia semistriata</i> Species of gastropod

Terebralia semistriata, common name the striate mud creeper, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Potamididae.

<i>Terebralia sulcata</i> Species of gastropod

Terebralia sulcata is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Potamididae.

<i>Terebralia</i> Genus of gastropods

Terebralia is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Potamididae.

<i>Littoraria intermedia</i> Species of gastropod

Littoraria intermedia is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Littorinidae, the winkles or periwinkles.

<i>Phalium glaucum</i> Species of gastropod

Phalium glaucum, common name the grey bonnet or glaucus bonnet, is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cassidae, the helmet snails and bonnet snails.

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

Trochus stellatus, common name the stellate trochus, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Trochidae, the top snails. The species is now extinct.

References

  1. 1 2 Terebralia palustris (Linnaeus, 1767) . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 17 May 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Houbrick R. S. (1999) Systematic review and functional morphology of the mangrove snails Terebralia and Telescopium (Potamididae; Prosobranchia). Malacologica 33: 289-338.
  3. ↑ Pape E., Muthumbi A., Kamanu C. P., Vanreusel A. (2008) Size-dependent distribution and feeding habits of Terebralia palustris in mangrove habitats of Gazi Bay, Kenya. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 76: 797-808.
  4. 1 2 3 Lieb B., Gebauer W., Gatsogiannis C., Depoix F., Hellmann N., Harasewych M. G., Strong E. E. & Markl J. (2010). "Molluscan mega-hemocyanin: an ancient oxygen carrier tuned by a ~550 kDa polypeptide". Frontiers in Zoology 2010, 7:14. doi : 10.1186/1742-9994-7-14.
  5. ↑ Zvonareva S., Kantor Yu., Li X. & Britayev T. (2015). "Long-term monitoring of Gastropoda (Mollusca) fauna in planted mangroves in central Vietnam". Zoological Studies 54: 39. doi : 10.1186/s40555-015-0120-0.
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