Olive snails, also known as olive shells and olives,

scientific name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

Olividae, are a

taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

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 ...

of medium to large

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.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2012). Olividae. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=23082 on 2012-06-11 The shells often show various muted but attractive colors, and may be patterned also. They 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

Olividae within the main clade

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 ...

Taxonomy

According to the Revised Classification, Nomenclator and Typification of Gastropod Families (2017) the family Olividae consists of five subfamilies: *

Olivinae Olivinae is a subfamily of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Olividae, the olives. Genera The following genera are accepted within Olivinae: * '' Felicioliva'' Petuch & Berschauer, 2017 * ''Oliva'' Bruguière, 1789 * '' ...

Latreille, 1825 – synonyms: Dactylidae H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853 (inv.); * Agaroniinae Olsson, 1956 * Calyptolivinae Kantor, Fedosov, Puillandre, Bonillo & Bouchet, 2017 * Olivancillariinae Golikov & Starobogatov, 1975 *

Olivellinae Olivellinae, are a subfamily of small predatory sea snails with smooth, shiny, elongated oval-shaped shells, in the family Olividae. The shells sometimes show muted but attractive colors, and may have some patterning.MolluscaBase eds. (2020). M ...

Troschel, 1869

Distribution

Olive snails are found worldwide, 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

These snails are found on sandy substrates intertidally and subtidally.

Life habits

The olive 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. They feed mostly on

bivalve Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...

s and

carrion Carrion () is the decaying flesh of dead animals, including human flesh. Overview Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or scavengers) include crows, vultures, c ...

and are known as some of the fastest burrowers among snails. They secrete a mucus similar to that of the

Muricidae Muricidae is a large and varied taxonomic family of small to large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks, commonly known as murex snails or rock snails. With about 1,600 living species, the Muricidae represent almost 10% of the Neogas ...

, from which a purple dye can be made.

Shell description

Physically the shells are 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 ...

. Olive 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 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 ...

Human use

Olive shells are popular with shell collectors, and are also often made into jewelry and other decorative items. The shell of the

lettered olive The lettered olive, ''Oliva sayana'', is a species of large predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Olividae, the olive shells, olive snails, or olives. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Oliva sayana Ravenel, 1834 ...

, ''

Oliva sayana The lettered olive, ''Oliva sayana'', is a species of large predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Olividae, the olive shells, olive snails, or olives. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Oliva sayana Ravenel, 1834 ...

'', is the state shell of

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Genera

Genera within the family Olividae include: * '' Agaronia'' Gray, 1839 *'' Americoliva'' Petuch, 2013 (synonym of ''Oliva'') * '' Callianax'' H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853 Charles L. Powell II, Fred Vervaet and David Berschauer, A taxonomic review of California Holocene Callianax (Olivellidae. Gastropoda. Mollusca) based on shell characters; The Festivus March 2020, special issue * '' Calyptoliva'' Kantor & Bouchet, 2007 * ''

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 *''

Felicioliva ''Felicioliva'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Olivinae of the family Olividae.MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Felicioliva Petuch & Berschauer, 2017. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Spec ...

'' Petuch & Berschauer, 2017 * † '' Lamprodomina'' Marwick, 1931 *'' Miniaceoliva'' Petuch & Sargent, 1986 * ''

Oliva Oliva () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of La Safor in the Valencian Community, Spain. To its east lie of coastline and beaches fronting the Mediterranean Sea, and eight kilometres to the north is Gandia. The ''Passeig'' (promenade) run ...

'' Bruguière, 1789 * '' Olivancillaria'' d'Orbigny, 1840 *''

Omogymna ''Omogymna'' 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 sm ...

'' Martens, 1897 * † '' Pseudolivella'' Glibert, 1960 *'' Recourtoliva'' Petuch & Berschauer, 2017 * † '' Spirancilla'' H. E. Vokes, 1936 *†'' Torqueoliva'' Landau, da Silva & Heitz, 2016 * '' Uzamakiella'' Habe, 1958 *''

Vullietoliva ''Vullietoliva'' is a genus (biology), genus of sea snails in the family (biology), family Olividae, the olives. ''Vullietoliva'' was first separated from Oliva (gastropod), ''Oliva'' from in 2017 by Edward J. Petuch and David P. Berschauer. It ...

'' Petuch & Berschauer, 2017 ;Genera brought into synonymy: * ''Chilotygma'' H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853: synonym of '' Ancilla'' Lamarck, 1799 * ''Hiatula'' Swainson, 1831: synonym of '' Agaronia'' Gray, 1839 * ''Lintricula'' H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853: synonym of '' Olivancillaria'' d'Orbigny, 1840 * ''Porphyria'' Röding, 1798 : synonym of ''

'' Bruguière, 1789 * ''Scaphula'' Swainson, 1840: synonym of '' Olivancillaria'' d'Orbigny, 1840

References

External links

Miocene Gastropods and Biostratigraphy of the Kern River Area, California; United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 642
{{Taxonbar, from=Q749806 Olivoidea Gastropod families