Drupella cornus
Encyclopedia
Drupella cornus, common name : the horn drupe, is a species
of sea snail
, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family
Muricidae
, the murex snails or rock snails.
Drupella cornus lays benthic egg capsules, which hatch into free-swimming planktonic veliger
larvae
Drupella cornus is a predator of living coral, grazing on the coral tissue. An abundance of this snail can cause significant destruction to the hard-coral cover on reefs. There is a possible link between coral diseases and an outbreak of this snail.. The snail is attracted to Montipora
corals when these corals secrete montiporic acids
and Montipora
or on hard substrates in the lower intertidal zone
and shallow sublittoral zone.
and in the Indian Ocean along Aldabra
, Chagos, Kenya
, Madagascar
, the Mascarene Basin, Mozambique
, Tanzania
, KwaZuluNatal and the Indo-Pacific.
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...
Muricidae
Muricidae
Muricidae, common name murex snails or rock snails, is a large and varied taxonomic family of small to large predatory sea snails. With approximately 1,600 living species the Muricidae represent almost 10% of the Neogastropoda. Additionally, 1,200 fossil species have been recognised...
, the murex snails or rock snails.
Description
The shell size of an adult varies between 28 mm and 40 mm. This whitish shell shows four rows of spiny, pointed nodules with numerous smaller spines between. The oval aperture is yellow. The outer lip is with three to four teeth.Drupella cornus lays benthic egg capsules, which hatch into free-swimming planktonic veliger
Veliger
A veliger is the planktonic larva of many kinds of marine and freshwater gastropod molluscs, as well as most bivalve mollusks.- Description :...
larvae
Drupella cornus is a predator of living coral, grazing on the coral tissue. An abundance of this snail can cause significant destruction to the hard-coral cover on reefs. There is a possible link between coral diseases and an outbreak of this snail.. The snail is attracted to Montipora
Montipora
Montipora is a genus of small polyp stony coral in the phylum Cnidaria. Depending on the species and location, Montipora may grow as plates or ridges, appearing to some as a bowl or flower. Undisturbed, the plates expand radially and may encrust over surrounding rocks, shells or debris...
corals when these corals secrete montiporic acids
Habitat
Drupella cornus commonly occurs on or under tabular corals of the genera AcroporaAcropora
Acropora is a genus of scleractinian coral in the Phylum Cnidaria. Some of its species are known as table coral, elkhorn coral and staghorn coral. There are currently 149 described species...
and Montipora
Montipora
Montipora is a genus of small polyp stony coral in the phylum Cnidaria. Depending on the species and location, Montipora may grow as plates or ridges, appearing to some as a bowl or flower. Undisturbed, the plates expand radially and may encrust over surrounding rocks, shells or debris...
or on hard substrates in the lower intertidal zone
Intertidal 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...
and shallow sublittoral zone.
Distribution
This species is distributed in the Red SeaRed Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
and in the Indian Ocean along Aldabra
Aldabra
Aldabra, the world's second largest coral atoll, is in the Aldabra Group of islands in the Indian Ocean that form part of the Seychelles. Uninhabited and extremely isolated, Aldabra is virtually untouched by humans, has distinctive island fauna including the Aldabra Giant Tortoise, and is...
, Chagos, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, the Mascarene Basin, Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, KwaZuluNatal and the Indo-Pacific.