Bullia digitalis, the Finger Plough Shell or Plough Snail, is a species

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...

 Nassariidae

Nassariidae

Nassariidae, common name nassa mud snails , or dog whelks , are a taxonomic family of small to medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the clade Neogastropoda.-Shell description:...

, the Nassa mud snails or dog whelks.These dominant scavengers scent decaying animal matter from a considerable distance so that they converge from all directions to feed.

Description

Length: 60 mm

Narrow, smooth shell with a long, pointed spire, usually light yellow or creamy, often tinged with violet or yellow. The large, oval foot is offwhite . The 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...

 has serrated margins.

Distribution

Lower east, south, south-west and west coast of South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 . Best viewing: Kei Mouth

Kei Mouth

Kei Mouth is a resort town on the southeast coast of South Africa, situated in the Wild Coast region of the Eastern Cape Province, situated 94 kilometres from the city of East London...

.

Habitat

Sandy beaches along the surf zone, low on the shore from middle tidal zone seawards where the sand is not too coarse.

Behaviour

When the tide starts to rise, this snail emerges from the sand, spreads its large "foot" like a sail, and surfs up the beach in response to the smell of carrion. The large foot is also used to burrow into the sand when the tide recedes. Sticks its proboscis into the prey to suck up soft tissues . Often gathers in large numbers to feed on dead and stranded jellyfish

Jellyfish

Jellyfish are free-swimming members of the phylum Cnidaria. Medusa is another word for jellyfish, and refers to any free-swimming jellyfish stages in the phylum Cnidaria...

 and bluebottles.

Similar species

Various plough shells on the southern African coast look similar, including Bullia rhodostoma

Bullia rhodostoma

Bullia rhodostoma, common name the smooth plough shell, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Nassariidae, the Nassa mud snails or dog whelks....

on the south coast and Bullia natalensis

Bullia natalensis

Bullia natalensis, the Pleated Plough Shell, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Nassariidae, the Nassa mud snails or dog whelks....

(Pleated Plough Shell) on the coast of KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....

. B. digitalis however does not have pleated whorls like the Pleated Plough Shell. All the common plough shells on the coast can only de differentiated for each other by their colour.