''Drupella rugosa'', common name : the rugose drupe, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of sea snail, a marine gastropod

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Muricidae 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 ...

, the murex snails or rock snails.

Description

''Drupella rugosa'' is a creamy white to orange, conical shell with a height between 20 mm and 35 mm. The

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

shows five spiral rows of rounded brown nodules separated by twelve axial ribs with fine granules, giving the shell a knobby appearance. The

columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (; Arabic: , 4 – ) was a prominent writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His ' in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture, together with the wo ...

is narrow and the anal sinus hardly shows. The elliptical

aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An ...

is narrowed by protruding plaits. The outer lip is with five or six teeth.

Feeding patterns

''Drupella rugosa'' is an obligate corallivore that grazes on the tissue of live

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...

s, especially fast growing or structurally diverse corals such as '' Acropora'' and '' Montipora''. Over-populations or outbreaks of the snail have been recorded in multiple regions since the 1980s, and generally occur on reefs impacted by human activities or following mass mortality events such as coral bleaching. ''D. Rugosa'' is known to contribute to secondary mortality following such events, and have also been linked to increased prevalence of coral diseases.

Distribution and Reproduction

This species is distributed in the intertidal zone and shallow rocky areas in the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...

and in the Indian Ocean along Aldabra,

Chagos The Chagos Archipelago () or Chagos Islands (formerly the Bassas de Chagas, and later the Oil Islands) is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about 500 kilometres (310 mi) south of the Maldives arc ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, the

Mascarene The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of the islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Thei ...

Basin, the Gulf of Thailand, and in the Western Pacific. Little is known about their reproductive cycle, however it was recently documented in the Gulf of Thailand that they use the skeletons of the corals they have recently consumed on which to lay their benthic eggs, particularly on corals of the

Fungiidae The Fungiidae () are a family of Cnidaria, commonly known as mushroom corals or plate corals. The family contains thirteen extant genera. They range from solitary corals to colonial species. Some genera such as '' Cycloseris'' and ''Fungia'' ar ...

Family.

References

* Dautzenberg, Ph. (1929). ''Mollusques testaces marins de Madagascar''. Faune des Colonies Francaises, Tome III * Drivas, J. & M. Jay (1988). ''Coquillages de La Réunion et de l'île Maurice''

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q5309381 Drupella Gastropods described in 1778