''Melongena patula'', common name Pacific crown conch, 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, a
marine gastropod 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 Melongenidae.
Description
''Melongena patula'' has a shell that reaches a length of 75 – 250 mm. The surface of this shell shows a deep chestnut brown color lined with a few white or yellow spiral bands. The interior is white. The shell is quite slender, sometimes spiny on the shoulders, with a wide aperture.
Distribution
This species can be found from the
Gulf of California
The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja C ...
(Mexico) to Peru.
Habitat
These sea snails live in shallow water, usually in sandy or muddy areas, especially under mangrove trees.
References
External links
* C. Baye
Catalogue of the genera Melanogena and SemifususWoRMS*
Discover LifeImage of a live snail of this species
Melongenidae
Gastropods described in 1844
{{Gastropod-stub