Order

Neogastropoda

  Class

Gastropoda

  No. of Genera in Ref.

  No. of Species in Ref.

  Environment

Fresh : No | Brackish : No | Marine : Yes

  Aquarium

  First Fossil Record

     

  Remark

Shell pear-shaped to fusiform in outline, with variously developed spire and expanded body whorl. Outer surface often more or less nodular to spiny on the shoulder of the whorls, with spiral cords and sometimes axial ridges. Periostracum thick. Aperture large and ovate, anteriorly narrowing into an open, short to long, siphonal canal. Columella smooth. Operculum thick and corneous, claw-shaped, with an apical nucleus. Head long and narrow, with moderately short tentacles bearing eyes at their bases, and a very long, extensible snout. Foot large and powerful. On sand and mud bottoms, in marine and brackish waters. Common in littoral and shallow sublittoral zones, but also in deeper areas of the continental shelf. Mainly feeding on bivalves and v various carrion. Sometimes considered as pests, when occurring in commercial beds of clams and oysters. Sexes separate, fertilization internal. Eggs laid in clusters or strings, hatching generally as crawling juveniles. Marketed and used for food in various areas of the western Pacific, the empty shells being often utilized for making lime (Ref. 348).

  Etymology

  Division

  Reproductive guild

  Typical activity level

  Main Ref.

  Coordinator