Buccinum baeri
Encyclopedia
Buccinum baeri, common name Baer's Buccinum, is a species
of sea snail
, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family
Buccinidae
, the true whelks. The epithet is written by some authors as "baerii"
. The conical spire
is pointed. There are numerous, rounded spiral cords on the whorls; but they may be hard to see. In some specimens, the cords are large with occasional low and broad axial ribs. The presence or absence of sculpture
in this species is an individual character and is not based on a geographic location. The broad ovalaperture
points upwards. The siphonal canal
is short and broad. The columella and the parietal wall are curved showing a thin, yellowish-white callus. The horny operculum
is small and oval. The color of the shell varies between yellowish-brown and purplish-gray.
Baer's Buccinum is host to larval stages of trematodes.
The hermit crab Pagurus hirsutiusculus
(Dana, 1851) can be found in empty shells of Baer's Buccinum.
to depths of 15m. in the Bering Sea
and Aleutian Islands to Kodiak
, Alaska
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of sea snail
Sea snail
Sea snail is a common name for those snails that normally live in saltwater, marine gastropod molluscs....
, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Buccinidae
Buccinidae
Buccinidae is a very large and diverse taxonomic family of large sea snails, often known as whelks or true whelks.True whelks are mostly marine gastropod mollusks in the clade Neogastropoda...
, the true whelks. The epithet is written by some authors as "baerii"
Description
The size of an adult shell varies between 25 mm and 54 mm. The thin shell has an elongate to ovate shape with a large broad, convex body whorlBody whorl
Body whorl is part of the morphology of a coiled gastropod mollusk.- In gastropods :In gastropods, the body whorl, or last whorl, is the most recently-formed and largest whorl of a spiral or helical shell, terminating in the aperture...
. The conical spire
Spire (mollusc)
A spire is a descriptive term for part of the coiled shell of mollusks. The word is a convenient aid in describing shells, but it does not refer to a very precise part of shell anatomy: the spire consists of all of the whorls except for the body whorl...
is pointed. There are numerous, rounded spiral cords on the whorls; but they may be hard to see. In some specimens, the cords are large with occasional low and broad axial ribs. The presence or absence of sculpture
Sculpture (mollusc)
The sculpture of a mollusc shell is the three-dimensional ornamentation on the outer surface, as distinct from the basic shape of the shell itself or colouration. Sculpture may be concave as well as convex. Sometimes it has microscopic detail. Sculpture refers to the calcareous outer layer, not the...
in this species is an individual character and is not based on a geographic location. The broad ovalaperture
Aperture (mollusc)
The aperture is an opening in certain kinds of mollusc shells: it is the main opening of the shell, where part of the body of the animal emerges for locomotion, feeding, etc....
points upwards. The siphonal canal
Siphonal canal
Some sea marine gastropods have a soft tubular anterior extension of the mantle called a siphon through which water is drawn into the mantle cavity and over the gill and which serves as a chemoreceptor to locate food. In many carnivorous snails, where the siphon is particularly long, the structure...
is short and broad. The columella and the parietal wall are curved showing a thin, yellowish-white callus. The horny operculum
Operculum (gastropod)
The operculum, meaning little lid, is a corneous or calcareous anatomical structure which exists in many groups of sea snails and freshwater snails, and also in a few groups of land snails...
is small and oval. The color of the shell varies between yellowish-brown and purplish-gray.
Baer's Buccinum is host to larval stages of trematodes.
The hermit crab Pagurus hirsutiusculus
Pagurus hirsutiusculus
Pagurus hirsutiusculus is a species of hermit crab, commonly called the hairy hermit crab. It lives from the Bering Strait south to California and Japan, from the intertidal zone to a depth of .-Description:...
(Dana, 1851) can be found in empty shells of Baer's Buccinum.
Distribution
This cold-water species occurs on rocky shores, sand or gravel in the intertidal zoneIntertidal zone
The intertidal zone is the area that is above water at low tide and under water at high tide . This area can include many different types of habitats, with many types of animals like starfish, sea urchins, and some species of coral...
to depths of 15m. in the Bering Sea
Bering Sea
The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....
and Aleutian Islands to Kodiak
Kodiak
Kodiak may refer to:In media and literary works:*Kodiak , a television program that aired Fridays on ABC during the 1974-75 television season in the United States...
, Alaska