''Concholepas concholepas'', the Chilean abalone, is a species of large edible

sea snail Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the ...

, a

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

mollusk. Despite the superficial resemblance, ''C. concholepas'' is not a true

abalone Abalone ( or ; via Spanish , from Rumsen ''aulón'') is a common name for any of a group of small to very large marine gastropod molluscs in the family (biology), family Haliotidae. Other common name In biology, a common name of a taxon o ...

(a species in the family Haliotidae), but a member of the family Muricidae, also known as murex snails or rock snails. This species is native to the coasts of Chile and Peru, where it is called ''loco'' ( Chilean Spanish a loanword from

Mapudungun Mapuche (, Mapuche & Spanish: , or Mapudungun; from ' 'land' and ' 'speak, speech') is an Araucanian language related to Huilliche spoken in south-central Chile and west-central Argentina by the Mapuche people (from ''mapu'' 'land' and ''che ...

) or ''pata de burro'' and ''chanque'' ( Peruvian Spanish). Due to

overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in th ...

, the harvesting of this species in Chile has been limited by law since 1989.

Shell description

''Concholepas concholepas'' has a thick, slightly oval, and white-brown to purple-grey shell. Its very few

whorls A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs). Whorls in nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral d ...

makes it resemble a Phrygian cap in shape. The outer surface of the shell shows strong lamellose ribs of which are both radial and circular-concentric. The shell is shaped almost like that of an

, with a very large aperture compared to other muricids. A ''loco'' cannot hide completely inside the shell if it is turned upside down, so has no need of its operculum; instead, it relies on its strong foot to remain in place. The shell is made of

calcite Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on ...

with an inner layer of aragonite. The shells of this species are used as ashtrays in Chile.

Ecology

Habitat and distribution

''Concholepas concholepas'' is a

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...

predator that lives on rocks in temperate waters from sea level to depths of 40 m. Its diet consists of mytilids (such as '' Semimytilus algosus'' and '' Perumytilus purpuratus'') and barnacles (such as ''

Chthamalus scabrosus ''Notochthamalus scabrosus'', the only species in the genus ''Notochthamalus'', is a species of barnacle found along the south-western and south-eastern coasts of South America, from Peru to the Falkland Islands. The species is found almost exclu ...

''). Its geographic distribution ranges from

Lobos de Afuera Lobos is the headquarters city of the Lobos Partido in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It was founded on 2 June 1802 by José Salgado. Background Located 100 km from Buenos Aires, Lobos is currently a fertile agricultural area known mai ...

in Peru, to Cape Horn in Chile, including the Juan Fernández Islands.
Catastro genético de locos y erizos del litoral chileno. Ministerio de Agricultura, Gobierno de Chile

Lifecycle

''Concholepas concholepas'' is

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

, which means the populations are divided between male and females, though with no external evidence of sexual dimorphism. The

fertilisation Fertilisation or fertilization (see spelling differences), also known as generative fertilisation, syngamy and impregnation, is the fusion of gametes to give rise to a new individual organism or offspring and initiate its development. Proce ...

in this species occurs internally. In

central Chile Central Chile (''Zona central'') is one of the five natural regions into which CORFO divided continental Chile in 1950. It is home to a majority of the Chilean population and includes the three largest metropolitan areas—Santiago, Valparaís ...

, females lay

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

capsules on low intertidal and shallow subtidal rocky surfaces during southern autumn months. After around one month of development inside the capsules, small planktotrophic veliger larvae (260 µm) are released. The larvae spend the following three months in the water column and once they become competent, they dwell at the sea surface until they settle on rocky intertidal and shallow subtidal habitats down to 30 m. The normal size at which the snail reaches sexual maturity is between 5.4 and 6.7 cm; it takes about four years to reach this size.

Human uses

''Concholepas concholepas'' is used in Chilean cuisine and is commercially marketed worldwide as a delicacy — misleadingly under the name "Chilean

". (True abalones are

herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...

s, whereas ''Concholepas concholepas'' is a

muricid Muricidae is a large and varied taxonomic family of small to large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks, commonly known as murex snails or rock snails. With about 1,600 living species, the Muricidae represent almost 10% of the Neoga ...

, a carnivore). Its economic value and ecological importance as

top predator An apex predator, also known as a top predator, is a predator at the top of a food chain, without natural predators of its own. Apex predators are usually defined in terms of trophic dynamics, meaning that they occupy the highest trophic lev ...

have made it the most studied marine invertebrate species in Chile.

Commercial fishery

On the Chilean coast, ''C. concholepas'' is one of the most important edible mollusc species and is a major product of the aquacultural industry. In 1975, about 5,000 tons were extracted annually. In 1980, the extraction peaked, with a catch of 25,000 tons. Since 1989, extraction is illegal in Chile, but from 1992 onwards, some exceptions have been made for accredited commercial divers. The minimum size allowed for extraction is 10 cm. Currently, the only legal way for artisan fishermen or other people to catch locos is to have a Marine Area of Benthonic Resources Extraction permit. Even in these areas, though, extraction is prohibited from December to July from Valparaíso Region northward and from January or February to July south of it. Populations have shrunk and a recent study shows extraction is making an

artificial selection Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant m ...

to eliminate faster-growing individuals. The same study also showed the populations in Chile are relatively

homogeneous Homogeneity and heterogeneity are concepts often used in the sciences and statistics relating to the uniformity of a substance or organism. A material or image that is homogeneous is uniform in composition or character (i.e. color, shape, siz ...

with low genetic variability. Due to overextraction, scientists have studied the possibility of commercial cultivation since 1986.

Cuisine

In Chilean cuisine, the meat of the foot of these snails is cooked and eaten with

mayonnaise Mayonnaise (; ), colloquially referred to as "mayo" , is a thick, cold, and creamy sauce or dressing commonly used on sandwiches, hamburgers, composed salads, and French fries. It also forms the base for various other sauces, such as tartar ...

or as a ''

chupe Chupe is a generic term used in South America to a variety of stew generally made with chicken, red meat, lamb or beef tripe and other offal, or with fish, shrimp, crayfish or shellfish such as loco, and vegetables, potatoes or yuca. Chupe de c ...

de locos'' soup in an

earthenware Earthenware is glazed or unglazed nonvitreous pottery that has normally been fired below . Basic earthenware, often called terracotta, absorbs liquids such as water. However, earthenware can be made impervious to liquids by coating it with a ce ...

bowl. The ''chupe de locos'' typically contains about six snails' feet, 100 grams of a fatty cheese, such as

Chanco cheese Chanco is Chilean cow's milk cheese originally from the Chanco farm in Maule Region. Now it is produced all over south-central Chile, and represents almost 50% of Chilean cheese consumption. It is a semi-hard ripened cheese with reduced lactose c ...

, two eggs, four spoons of grated bread, salt, and paprika.

Possible medical use

The hemocyanin found in the blood of ''C. concholepas'' has immunotherapeutic effects against bladder and

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

. In 2006 research,

mice A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

were primed with ''C. concholepas'' before implantation of bladder tumor (MBT-2) cells. Mice treated with ''C. concholepas'' showed a significant antitumor effect. The effects included prolonged survival, decreased tumor growth and incidence and lack of toxic effects.

Other possible scientific uses

''Concholepas concholepas'' shells are a potential proxy-bearer for climate change studies. There are many fossil shell accumulations in Pleistocene coastal terraces. Climate indicators are, by far, less abundant for ancient cold seas; therefore, investigating the ability of ''C. concholepas'' will provide valuable signals for long-term evolution of the sea surface temperatures in cold seas, and might be important in reconstructing the

El Niño Southern Oscillation EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...

(ENSO) history.

References

Sources

*
Fishing resources database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Concholepas Concholepas

concholepas ''Concholepas'' is a genus of medium-sized to large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Muricidae, the rock shells.MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Concholepas Lamarck, 1801. Accessed through: World Register of M ...

Molluscs of South America Molluscs of Chile Fauna of Peru Commercial molluscs Gastropods described in 1789