''Fasciolaria tulipa'', common name the true tulip, 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 large

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

Fasciolariidae The Fasciolariidae, common name the "tulip snails and spindle snails", are a family (biology), family of small to large sea snails, marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Buccinoidea. The family Fasciolariidae probably appe ...

Distribution

This species occurs from the

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

coast all the way south and west to the

Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...

coast of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, also in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Shell description

The tulip shell has a

fusiform Fusiform means having a spindle-like shape that is wide in the middle and tapers at both ends. It is similar to the lemon-shape, but often implies a focal broadening of a structure that continues from one or both ends, such as an aneurysm on a b ...

outline, with an overall smooth surface, and presents fine growth lines, and small denticles on the inner edge of its delicate outer lip. It is whitish to tan in color, with rows of darker brownish blotches of various sizes. Over the blotches are symmetrical rows of thin lines which spiral along the

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 ...

of the shell, which are normally about 9 in number. The shell of an adult tulip snail can be from 2.5” to 9.5” inches (6.4 – 24.1 cm) in length.

Gallery

File:Fasciolaria tulipa 01.JPG File:Fasciolaria tulipaProfils.jpg, Abapertural (bottom) and apertural view of a shell. File:Fasciolaria tulipaFace.jpg, Apical view of a shell.

Habitat

''Fasciolaria tulipa'' usually lives in sand flats and

seagrass Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four families (Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and Cymodoceaceae), all in the orde ...

beds, especially where the

turtle grass ''Thalassia testudinum'', commonly known as turtlegrass, is a species of Marine (ocean), marine seagrass. It forms meadows in shallow sandy or muddy locations in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Turtle grass and other seagrasses form sea ...

(

scientific name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''Thalassia testudinum'') is present, at depths of nearly 30 feet.

Feeding habits

This snail eats bivalves and various other gastropods including the banded tulip ''

Fasciolaria lilium ''Cinctura lilium'', common name the banded tulip, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Fasciolariidae, the spindle snails, the tulip snails and their allies.Bouchet, P. (2012). Cinctura lilium (Fischer von Waldhei ...

'', and the queen conch ''

Eustrombus gigas ''Aliger gigas,'' originally known as ''Strombus gigas'' or more recently as ''Lobatus gigas'', commonly known as the queen conch, is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family of true conches, the Strombidae. This s ...

''.Iversen E.S.; Jory D.E.; Bannerot S.P. (1986). "Predation on queen conchs, ''Strombus gigas'', in the Bahamas". ''Bulletin of Marine Science'', 39(1): 61-75.

References

External links

*
Florent's Guide To The Florida, Bahamas & Caribbean Reefs

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fasciolaria Tulipa Fasciolariidae Gastropods described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus