Conuber sordidus
Encyclopedia
Conuber sordidus is a species
of predatory sea snail
, a marine
gastropod mollusk family
Naticidae
, the moon snails.
s. The species is also known to prey on the soldier crab Mictyris longicarpus
by drilling predation. To catch soldier crabs, C. sordidus uses the same stereotyped behaviour as previously described for moon snails hunting shelled molluscan prey.
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 predatory sea snail
Sea snail
Sea snail is a common name for those snails that normally live in saltwater, marine gastropod molluscs....
, a marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
gastropod mollusk 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...
Naticidae
Naticidae
Naticidae, common name the moon snails, is a family of minute to large-sized predatory sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Littorinimorpha.Naticidae is the only family in the superfamily Naticoidea....
, the moon snails.
Distribution
East coast of Australia, from Victoria to Queensland. The species also occurs in Tasmania and New Zealand.Life habits
Conuber sordidus is predatory, feeding mostly on bivalves and gastropodGastropoda
The Gastropoda or gastropods, more commonly known as snails and slugs, are a large taxonomic class within the phylum Mollusca. The class Gastropoda includes snails and slugs of all kinds and all sizes from microscopic to quite large...
s. The species is also known to prey on the soldier crab Mictyris longicarpus
Mictyris longicarpus
Mictyris longicarpus is a species of crab that lives on sandy beaches from the Bay of Bengal to Australia; with other members of the genus Mictyris, it is "one of the most loved crabs in Australia". Adults are across, white, with blue on their backs, and hold their claws vertically. They feed on...
by drilling predation. To catch soldier crabs, C. sordidus uses the same stereotyped behaviour as previously described for moon snails hunting shelled molluscan prey.
External links
- Video of Conuber sordidus hunting Mictyris longicarpus on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....