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Family Architectonicidae - Sundial shells
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Order
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Class
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Gastropoda
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No. of Genera in Ref.
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11
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No. of Species in Ref.
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140
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Environment
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Fresh : No |
Brackish : No |
Marine : Yes
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Aquarium
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First Fossil Record
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Remark
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=Solariidae (Ref. 3000). Shell usually wider than long, low-conical to discoidal in shape, with a large, rather flat base. Umbilicus broadly open, within which can be seen the spiral coiling of the whorls and the inverted larval shell. Sculpture of regular spiral ridges intersected by axial grooves, usually with 1 or 2 keels at periphery and a nodular spiral rib bordering the umbilicus. Periostracum thin and translucent, easily eroded. Aperture rounded to angular, without a siphonal canal. Operculum corneous, with a tubercle internally, either flat and paucispiral or high conical and multispiral. Head with a short snout and a pair of long, tapering and very slender tentacles bearing eyes at their outer bases. Anterior portion of the foot produced into 2 pointed lobes. Soft body coloration resulting from a combination of black and white markings in the epidermis, and from the internal organ coloration showing through; most developed on tentacles and the anterior part of the foot. Tropical and warm-temperate species, associated with coelenterates such as sea-anemones, corals, or zoanthids on which they feed. Mouth region lined with a tough cuticle as a protection against stings of coelenterates. Shell shape reflecting the habitat of species; depressed with a sharp peripheral keel allowing easy burrowing for sand-dwellers, more or less rounded for species of hard substrates. Simultaneous hermaphrodites. Eggs numerous, laid in capsules and embedded in gelatinous mass anchored to the substrate, hatching as planktonic larvae. Pelagic larval stages often long, hence a very wide distribution. Sundials are occasionally collected by shrimp trawlers, consumed by fishermen and used as decorative items in the shellcraft industry (Ref. 349).
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Etymology
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Division
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Reproductive guild
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Typical activity level
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Main Ref.
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Coordinator
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