Vitularia salebrosa | |
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shell of Vitularia salebrosa (specimen atNaturalis Biodiversity Center) | |
Scientific classification
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Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Gastropoda |
Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
Order: | Neogastropoda |
Family: | Muricidae |
Subfamily: | Muricopsinae |
Genus: | Vitularia |
Species: | V. salebrosa
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Binomial name | |
Vitularia salebrosa (King, 1832)
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Synonyms [3] | |
Vitularia salebrosa is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails. [3]
The length of the shell varies between 24 mm and 80 mm.
The shell is white or yellowish-brown, sometimes banded. The occasional varix is much thickened, being composed of a number of parallel, close laminae. The outer lip and the columella are tinged with yellow. The operculum is diamond-shaped, with two short sides above and two long ones below, the angles rounded. [4]
V. salebrosa is found on the tropical Pacific coast of America, from Baja California to Peru. It lives under rocks in the intertidal and subtidal zones. [5]: 143
This species is an ectoparasite of other molluscs. Members of the species bore a hole through the host's shell and suck its blood or digestive organ (depending on the prey) over a period of months. [6] [5] Consistent with their suctorial feeding habit, they have a long proboscis, reduced buccal mass, and simplified digestive system compared to other Muricids. [5]
Prey include the oyster Ostrea cf. fisheri [4], the limpet-like slipper shell Crucibulum spinosum, and the vermetid gastropod Tripsycha (Eualetes) tulipa. [6]