Family Ficidae - fig shells

  Order
:
  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 large and thin, pear-shaped, about the size and shape of a large fig fruit. Spire low, body whorls inflated and very large, drawn out anteriorly into a long, tapered and gracefully curved siphonal canal. Main sculpture of spiral riblets, sometimes crossed by fine axial striations to form a cancellate surface. Aperture broad, with thin and smooth outer lip and sinuous columella. Operculum absent. Head small, with long snout and pointed tentacles bearing eyes at their outer bases. Foot large, irregularly rounded posteriorly, somewhat truncate and laterally pointed anteriorly. Fleshy siphon very long and narrow. Mantle lobes partially extending over the shell in living specimens. On sandy bottoms in warm temperate and tropical environments, from low in the intertidal zone to depths over 1000 m. Active animals, gliding about on the sand with their large foot to search for sea urchins and other echinoderms on which they feed. Bury themselves in the sand at low tide. Sexes separate, fertilization internal. Female often larger than male. Eggs laid in stacked masses, probably hatching as planktonic larvae. Occasionally collected in shrimp trawl nets (Ref. 348).
  Etymology
:
  Division
:
  Reproductive guild
:
  Typical activity level
:
  Main Ref.
:
  Coordinator
:

Ref.
[ e.g. 9948]                       
Glossary
                    [ e.g. cephalopods]