Olivellinae, are a

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

of small

predatory Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

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 ...

s with smooth, shiny, elongated oval-shaped shells, 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 ...

Olividae Olive snails, also known as olive shells and olives, scientific name Olividae, are a taxonomic family of medium to large predatory sea snails with smooth, shiny, elongated oval-shaped shells.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2012). Olividae. Accessed thr ...

. The shells sometimes show muted but attractive colors, and may have some patterning.MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Olivellinae Troschel, 1869. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=225405 on 2020-03-18 These animals are

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 ...

mollusc 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 ...

s in the superfamily

Olivoidea Olivoidea is a taxonomic superfamily of minute to medium-large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the order Neogastropoda.MolluscaBase (2018). Olivoidea Latreille, 1825. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: ...

, within the order

Neogastropoda Neogastropoda is an order of sea snails, both freshwater and marine gastropod molluscs. Description The available fossil record of Neogastropoda is relatively complete, and supports a widely accepted evolutionary scenario of an Early Creta ...

according to the taxonomy of Bouchet and Rocroi.

Distribution

''Olivella'' snails are found worldwide, but mostly

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

in subtropical and

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

seas and oceans.

Habitat and habit

These snails are found on sandy substrates intertidally and subtidally. These snails are all

carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...

sand-burrowers.

Shell description

The shells are basically oval and

cylindrical A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an infini ...

in shape. They have a well-developed stepped

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

. ''Olivella'' shells have a siphonal notch at the posterior end of the long narrow

aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An opt ...

. The

siphon A siphon (from grc, σίφων, síphōn, "pipe, tube", also spelled nonetymologically syphon) is any of a wide variety of devices that involve the flow of liquids through tubes. In a narrower sense, the word refers particularly to a tube in a ...

of the living animal protrudes from the siphon notch. The shell surface is extremely glossy because in life the mantle almost always covers the shell.

The fossil record

Olive shells first appeared during the

Campanian The Campanian is the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous Epoch on the geologic timescale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). In chronostratigraphy, it is the fifth of six stages in the Upper Cretaceous Series. Campanian s ...

.Vermeij, Geerat J (1 September 1993). ''Evolution and Escalation''. Princeton University Press. . p.182.

Genera

* '' Callianax'' H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853 * ''

Cupidoliva ''Cupidoliva'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Olividae Olive snails, also known as olive shells and olives, scientific name Olividae, are a taxonomic family of medium to large predatory sea snails with ...

'' Iredale, 1924 * ''

Olivella Olivella is a municipality in Catalonia, in the province of Barcelona, Spain. It is situated in the comarca of Garraf. History The first known village in the area was founded in 992 around a castle known as ''Castell vell''. The inhabitants li ...

'' Swainson, 1831 ;Genera brought into synonymy: * ''Dactylidia'' H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853: synonym of ''Olivella'' Swainson, 1831 * ''Olivina'' d'Orbigny, 1841: synonym of ''Olivella'' Swainson, 1831 Image:Olivella biplicata.jpg, ''

Olivella biplicata ''Callianax biplicata'', common names the "purple dwarf olive" "purple olive shell" or "purple olivella" is a species of small predatory sea snail, a Marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusc in the family (biology), family Olividae, the olives. ...

'' Image:Olivella biplicata 2.jpg, ''

References

External links

Kantor Yu.I., Fedosov A.E., Puillandre N., Bonillo C. & Bouchet P. (2017). Returning to the roots: morphology, molecular phylogeny and classification of the Olivoidea (Gastropoda: Neogastropoda). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 180(3): 493-541
{{Taxonbar, from2=Q244268, from1=Q33146920 *