''Fusinus colus'',
common name
In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...
the Distaff spindle or Long-tailed Spindle, 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
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
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 ...
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 ...
, the spindle snails, the tulip snails and their allies.
Distribution
This species is present in the Indian Ocean and in the western and central Pacific Ocean, from East Africa to Melanesia, southern Japan, and southern Queensland.
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Habitat
These sea snails are common in coastal waters at depths of 5 to 40 m. They inhabit littoral and the tidal zone and prefer sandy bottoms. They feed on benthic invertebrates.
Description
The size of an adult shell can reach .[ These shells are thick, long, biconic, spindle-shaped, with many spiral ribs, grooves and nodules. The spire is elongated. The siphonal canal is very long. The outer surface is usually whitish, but may be yellowish, brown or reddish in color.
]
References
Bibliography
* A. G Hinton – Guide to shells of Papua New Guinea: 68 colour plates illustrating over 1,450 individual shells representing 950 distinct species Paperback
* Arianna Fulvo and Roberto Nistri (2005). 350 coquillages du monde entier. Delachaux et Niestlé (Paris) : 256 p. ()
* Callomon P. & Snyder M.A. (2007). On the genus Fusinus in Japan III: Nine further species, with type selections. Venus 66(1–2): 19–47.
* Cornelis Swennen and Robert Moolenbeek – The Molluscs of the southern Gulf of Thailand
* Drivas, J. & M. Jay (1988) Coquillages de La Réunion et de l'île Maurice
* Linnaeus C. 1758. Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima, reformata Vermes. Testacea. str. 753. Holmiae. (Salvius).
* Marais J.P. & R.N. Kilburn (2010) Fasciolariidae. pp. 106–137, in: Marais A.P. & Seccombe A.D. (eds), Identification guide to the seashells of South Africa. Volume 1. Groenkloof: Centre for Molluscan Studies. 376 pp.
colus
Gastropods described in 1758
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
{{Fasciolariidae-stub