Melongena
Encyclopedia
Melongena is a genus of sea snail
s, marine
gastropod mollusks in the family
Melongenidae
, the crown conches and their allies.
synonyms:
The shells of Melongena species are extremely variable in shape and sculpture, and historically this has meant that a large number of different forms have been named, creating numerous synonym
s.
There is still some disagreement about how many modern species of Melongena actually exist. However, phylogenetic analysis indicate that there are only three species in the Western Atlantic, with all snails in coastal Florida being referred to Melongena corona.
The genus Melongena occurs only in the tropical Americas
. It appears that three nominally valid species occur in the tropics of the western Atlantic: one in Florida
, one in the Yucatan
, and one in Central America
and the Caribbean
. A fourth species is found on the tropical eastern Pacific coast.
Species within this genus live in the tropical intertidal zone
, in muddy areas such as under mangrove
trees.
Melongena snails are carnivorous, primarily preying on small bivalves (clams, mussels and oysters). They will also feed on other species of snails and have been known to be cannibalistic.
Sea snail
Sea snail is a common name for those snails that normally live in saltwater, marine gastropod molluscs....
s, 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 mollusks 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...
Melongenidae
Melongenidae
Melongenidae, the crown conchs, busycon whelks and their relatives, are a taxonomic family of large to very large marine gastropods in the clade Neogastropoda.- Taxonomy :Genera Busycon and Busycotypus were placed in Melongenidae...
, the crown conches and their allies.
Species
Species within the genus Melongena include:- Melongena bicolorMelongena bicolorMelongena bicolor is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Melongenidae, the crown conches and their allies....
(Say, 1826) - Melongena bispinosaMelongena bispinosaMelongena bispinosa is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Melongenidae, the crown conches and their allies....
(Philippi, 1844) - Melongena californica Anderson & Martin, 1914
- Melongena coronaMelongena coronaMelongena corona, common name the Florida crown conch, is an edible species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Melongenidae, the crown conches and their allies.-Description:...
(Gmelin, 1791) - crown conch - synonym: Melongena subcoronata - Melongena melongenaMelongena melongenaMelongena melongena, common name the Caribbean crown conch, is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Melongenidae, the crown conches and their allies....
(Linnaeus, 1758) - type species - Melongena patulaMelongena patulaMelongena patula is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk inthe family Melongenidae. This species is found in shallow water from the Gulf of California to Peru.- External links :*...
(Linnaeus, 1758) - Melongena sprucecreekensis Tucker, 1994
- † Melongena woodwardi (Roxo, 1924) - from MioceneMioceneThe Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
of the Pebas Formation
synonyms:
- Melongena paradisaica (Röding, 1798) is a synonym of Volema paradisiacaVolema paradisiacaVolema paradisiaca , common name : the Pear Melongena, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Melongenidae, the crown conches and their allies.-Description:The size of the adult shell varies between 40 mm and 52 mm....
Röding, 1798 - Melongena paradisiaca (Röding, 1798) is a synonym of Volema paradisiacaVolema paradisiacaVolema paradisiaca , common name : the Pear Melongena, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Melongenidae, the crown conches and their allies.-Description:The size of the adult shell varies between 40 mm and 52 mm....
Röding, 1798 - Melongena pirum Dautzenberg, 1929 is a synonym of Volema pyrumVolema pyrumVolema pyrum is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Melongenidae, the crown conches and their allies....
(Gmelin, 1791)
The shells of Melongena species are extremely variable in shape and sculpture, and historically this has meant that a large number of different forms have been named, creating numerous synonym
Synonym (taxonomy)
In scientific nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that is or was used for a taxon of organisms that also goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies...
s.
There is still some disagreement about how many modern species of Melongena actually exist. However, phylogenetic analysis indicate that there are only three species in the Western Atlantic, with all snails in coastal Florida being referred to Melongena corona.
Distribution
The genus Melongena occurs only in the tropical Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
. It appears that three nominally valid species occur in the tropics of the western Atlantic: one in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, one in the Yucatan
Yucatán
Yucatán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Yucatán is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 106 municipalities and its capital city is Mérida....
, and one in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
and the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. A fourth species is found on the tropical eastern Pacific coast.
Habitat
Species within this genus live in the tropical 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...
, in muddy areas such as under mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
trees.
Life habits
Melongena snails are carnivorous, primarily preying on small bivalves (clams, mussels and oysters). They will also feed on other species of snails and have been known to be cannibalistic.
Further reading
- Abbott, R. Tucker, 1986. Seashells of North America, St. Martin's Press, New York
- Keen, A. Myra, 1971. Sea shells of tropical west America, Stanford University Press, Stanford, California
- Anderson, F.M., and B. Martin, 1914. "Neocene records in the Temblor Basin, California, and Neocene deposits of the San Juan District, San Luis Obispo County", California Academy of Sciences Proceedings, 4th series, v. IV, p. 14-112.