Amoria is a taxonomic genus of medium-sized predatory marine
gastropod in the family
Volutidae.[1]
Distribution
Amoria are found in onshore and offshore waters around the entire coast of
Australia. Several species extend into offshore waters of southern
Indonesia. The highest areas of diversity are in the intertidal and shallow subtidal waters of northern
Western Australia followed by the subtidal waters around the
Great Barrier Reef in
Queensland.
Shell description
Amoria have a small, smooth, more or less pointed conical
protoconch, a solid very glossy, fusiform shell and an elongate
aperture with 4 distinct, more or less developed
columellar plicae. The
sutures are slightly callous. The colour pattern of the genus Amoria is variable, the base colour is white, yellow or pink with varying degrees or brown axial lines forming a pattern over the base colour. Axial lines may be free or may reticulate to form a tented pattern.[2]
The largest species Amoria hunteri reaches over 200 mm in length. The smallest species is probably Amoria dampieria frequently around 20 mm.
Biology
Amoria are nocturnal and prey on other
gastropods and on
bivalves. They generally inhabit areas with well sorted coarse sand. Some Amoria species have been noted to bite people when they are handled. The bite is followed by a mild sting, but no long-term effects have been noted.
Fossil history
The first Amoria appear in the
Eocene and Late
Miocene from
Victoria. Judging from anatomical features, Amoria are close to the genus Cymbiola from which they descended in the
Tertiary. Cymbiola are related to
Tethyan species of the Late Miocene of
Indonesia,
Java.
Taxonomy
Amoria includes 20-30 species. The following species have been recognized:
N.H. Ludbrook (1953), Systematic Revision of the Volutidid Genus Amoria, J. Mollus. Stud. 30 (4-5): 131-153.
Bail, P., Limpus, A. & Poppe, G. T. (2001): The Genus Amoria. In: Poppe, G. T. & Groh, K.: A Conchological Iconography. 50 pp., 93 plts. ConchBooks, Hackenheim,
ISBN3-925919-46-5.
Wilson, B. (1994): Australian marine shells 2. Odyssey Publishing, Kallaroo, Western Australia,
ISBN0-646-15227-0.