''Eualetes tulipa'' 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 ...

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 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 Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Vermetidae, the worm snails or worm shells.

Description

''E. tulipa'' is a marine gastropod species of the family Vermetidae, commonly known as "worm snails" due to the tube shape of their shells. Vermetids are sessile and are either attached or buried on hard substrates. Once the juvenile attaches to the substrate, the adult shell grows by coiling itself at a right angle to the nuclear whorls of the juvenile shell. This produces a large morphological plasticity in the adults

Distribution

There are reports of this species at several localities in Panama Bay, including the boulder reef at Vera Cruz,

Veraguas Province Veraguas () is a province of Panama, located in the centre-west of the country. The capital is the city of Santiago de Veraguas. It is the only Panamanian province to border both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It covers an area of 10,587.6&nb ...

, both in the east Pacific Ocean. In Hawaii, ''E. tulipa'' has been reported as a non-indigenous, introduced species in 32 localities, including Kane‘ohe Bay, Hilo Harbour, O’ahu Waikiki and O’ahu

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, since at least 1997. In these Hawaiian localities, individuals are mainly found attached to artificial substrates such as concrete pilings and walls, metal and wood substrates but also in natural environments such as reefs and mangrove roots. In the

Venezuelan Caribbean The Venezuelan Caribbean consists of the coastal mainland and Caribbean islands. Coastal Mainland States * Anzoátegui * Aragua * Carabobo * Delta Amacuro * Falcón **Paraguaná Peninsula (tied island) * Miranda (state), Miranda * Monagas * Sucre ...

, this species (reported as ''

Vermetus ''Vermetus'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Vermetidae, the worm snails or worm shells. The genus ''Vermetus'' is very ancient: it occurs in the fossil record from the Jurassic to the Quaternary (age range: ...

'' sp.) has been observed since at least 1986 in the central west coast near

Puerto Cabello Puerto Cabello () is a city on the north coast of Venezuela. It is located in Carabobo State, about 210 km west of Caracas. As of 2011, the city had a population of around 182,400. The city is home to the largest and busiest port in the coun ...

colonizing the walls of the intake-cooling sea water channel of a thermoelectric power plant. This species has also been observed at other two localities within the area colonizing other artificial substrates: the first is on the concrete pilings at the deck of El Palito oil refinery, and the other is on the metal remains of a ship wreck.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5405255 Vermetidae Gastropods described in 1843 Taxa named by Jean-Charles Chenu