''Fusitriton oregonensis'' (Oregon hairy triton) is a species of large predatory

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 in the family

Cymatiidae Cymatiidae is a family of large sea snails in the superfamily Tonnoidea and the order Littorinimorpha. Members of this family are predators. Genera The family Cymatiidae contains the following genera: * '' Argobuccinum'' Herrmannsen, 1846 * '' ...

. The snail was given its specific name ''oregonensis'' (meaning "of Oregon") to honor the Oregon Territory by

conchologist Conchology () is the study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of molluscs; however, malacology is the study of molluscs as whole organisms, whereas conchology is confined to the study of their shells. It includ ...

John Howard Redfield John Howard Redfield (July 10, 1815 – February 27, 1895) was an American botanist, conchologist, and businessman. He was a founder of the Botany section of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, and his chief botanical works include " ...

in 1846. It was declared the state seashell of Oregon in 1989 by the 65th Legislative Assembly.Chapter 186 — State Emblems; State Boundary
2017 Oregon Revised Statutes

Distribution

The Oregon hairy triton is native to the northwestern coast of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. The shells are found from Alaska to California, as well as in northern

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The shells often wash up on the coast during high tides.State Symbols: Mountains to National Wildlife Refuges
Oregon Blue Book

Shell description

The shells grow from long. The shell is light brown in color and is covered with gray-brown bristly

periostracum The periostracum ( ) is a thin, organic coating (or "skin") that is the outermost layer of the shell of many shelled animals, including molluscs and brachiopods. Among molluscs, it is primarily seen in snails and clams, i.e. in gastropods and ...

, hence the name "hairy." The shell is an elongate cone with six

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 ...

(or turns) around a central axis.

Habitat

This species is common subtidally.

Life habits

Little is known of the snail's feeding habits, but they are believed to feed on other

mollusks 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 esti ...

, ascidians ("sea squirts"), and more rarely,

sea urchin Sea urchins () are spiny, globular echinoderms in the class Echinoidea. About 950 species of sea urchin live on the seabed of every ocean and inhabit every depth zone from the intertidal seashore down to . The spherical, hard shells (tests) of ...

s. The species also holds the record for longest larval development period of any marine invertebrate, able to delay metamorphosis for over 4 years until presented with appropriate habitat. Under laboratory conditions, the larvae showed no signs of

senescence Senescence () or biological aging is the gradual deterioration of functional characteristics in living organisms. The word ''senescence'' can refer to either cellular senescence or to senescence of the whole organism. Organismal senescence inv ...

at that point. According to some authorities, four years is long enough to drift completely across the Pacific Ocean.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3168778 Cymatiidae Molluscs of the Pacific Ocean Western North American coastal fauna Symbols of Oregon Gastropods described in 1846