''Melongena'' is a genus 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 ...

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 ...

mollusks in the family Melongenidae, the crown conches and their allies.WoRMS (2010). Melongena Schumacher, 1817. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=205587 on 2011-04-02

Species

Species within the genus ''Melongena'' include: * † ''

Melongena basilica ''Melongena'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Melongenidae, the crown conches and their allies.WoRMS (2010). Melongena Schumacher, 1817. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca dat ...

'' (Bellardi, 1873) * ''

Melongena bispinosa ''Melongena bispinosa'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Melongenidae The Melongenidae, the crown conchs and their relatives, are a taxonomic family of large to very large marine gastropods in the superfami ...

'' (Philippi, 1844) * † ''

Melongena californica ''Melongena'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Melongenidae, the crown conches and their allies.WoRMS (2010). Melongena Schumacher, 1817. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca dat ...

'' Anderson & Martin, 1914 F. M. Anderson and B. Martin. 1914. Neocene record in the Temblor Basin, California, and Neocene deposits of the San Juan District, San Luis Obispo County. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, Fourth Series 4(3):15-112 * '' Melongena corona'' (Gmelin, 1791) - crown conch - synonym: ''Melongena subcoronata'' * † '' Melongena lainei'' (Basterot, 1825) * ''

Melongena melongena ''Melongena melongena'', common name the Caribbean crown conch, is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Melongenidae The Melongenidae, the crown conchs and their relatives, are a taxonomic family of large to v ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1758) - type species * † '' Melongena murifactor'' Vermeij & Raven, 2009 * '' Melongena patula'' (Linnaeus, 1758) * † ''

Melongena pontonxensis ''Melongena'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Melongenidae, the crown conches and their allies.WoRMS (2010). Melongena Schumacher, 1817. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca dat ...

'' Lozouet, 2021 * † ''

Melongena woodwardi ''Melongena'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Melongenidae, the crown conches and their allies.WoRMS (2010). Melongena Schumacher, 1817. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca dat ...

'' (Roxo, 1924) - from Miocene of the Pebas FormationVermeij J. & Wesselingh F. P. (2002). "Neogastropod molluscs from the Miocene of western Amazonia, with comments on marine to freshwater transitions in molluscs". '' Journal of Paleontology'' 76(2): 265-270. . ;Synonyms: * ''Melongena belknapi'' Petit de la Saussaye, 1852: synonym of '' Melongena corona'' (Gmelin, 1791) * ''Melongena bicolor'' (Say, 1826): synonym of '' Melongena corona'' (Gmelin, 1791) * ''Melongena fasciata'' Schumacher, 1817: synonym of ''

'' (Linnaeus, 1758) * ''Melongena paradisiaca'' (Röding, 1798): synonym of ''Volema paradisiaca'' Röding, 1798 : synonym of '' Volema pyrum'' (Gmelin, 1791) (previous combination) * ''Melongena perspinosa'' Pilsbry & Vanatta, 1934 accepted as Melongena corona (Gmelin, 1791) * ''Melongena pirum'' Dautzenberg, 1929: synonym of '' Volema pyrum'' (Gmelin, 1791) * ''Melongena sprucecreekensis'' Tucker, 1994: synonym of '' Melongena corona'' (Gmelin, 1791) * † ''Melongena vigneauxi'' Magne & Vergneau-Saubade, 1970: synonym of † ''

'' (Bellardi, 1873) The shells of ''Melongena'' species are extremely variable in shape and sculpture, and historically this has meant that a large number of different forms have been named, creating numerous

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

s. There is still some disagreement about how many modern species of ''Melongena'' actually exist. However, phylogenetic analysis indicate that there are only three species in the Western Atlantic, with all snails in coastal Florida being referred to ''Melongena corona''.Hayes, K. A., 2003. ''Phylogeography and Evolution of the Florida Crown Conch (Melongena corona)'' MS Thesis University of South Florida, Department of Biology.

Distribution

The genus ''Melongena'' occurs only in the tropical

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

. It appears that three nominally valid species occur in the tropics of the western Atlantic: one in Florida, one in the Yucatan, and one in Central America and the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

. A fourth species is found on the tropical eastern Pacific coast.

Habitat

Species within this genus live in the tropical

intertidal zone The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species o ...

, in muddy areas such as under mangrove trees.

Life habits

''Melongena'' snails are carnivorous, primarily preying on small bivalves (clams, mussels and oysters). They will also feed on other species of snails and have been known to be cannibalistic.

References

External links