''Euspira heros'', the northern moon snail, 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
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 ...
in the family
Naticidae.
[Gofas, S.; Bouchet, P.; Rosenberg, G. (2015). Euspira heros (Say, 1822). In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=160315 on 2015-06-21] This large snail is rather uncommon intertidally, but is much more common
subtidally. This species, like all moon snails, feeds voraciously on clams and other snails.
Description
The shell of this species is globular and can, under the right conditions, grow up to long.
The
operculum is large, ear-shaped in outline, and is corneous and somewhat transparent. On beaches where the shell of this species washed up commonly, the operculum will usually also be found washed up in the drift line.
Distribution
The distribution of ''Euspira heros'' falls within the range: 51.5°N to 33°N; 76°W to 65°W.
This western
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
species occurs in:
* Canada: Labrador, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick
* USA: Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Maine
There is a sibling species on the Pacific coast of North America: ''
Neverita lewisii
''Neverita lewisii'' (previously known as ''Polinices lewisii'', ''Lunatia lewisii'', ''Euspira lewisii''), common name Lewis's moon snail, is a species of large operculated sea snail. It is a predatory marine gastropod in the family Naticidae, ...
''.
Habitat
''Euspira heros'' lives on sand substrates in
infralittoral
The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal are ...
, and
circalittoral parts and
estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
.
It has been found at the surface to depths up to
[Welch J. J. (2010). "The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". '' PLoS ONE'' 5(1): e8776. .]
Predation
Empty shells of clams and snails, including other moon snails, display evidence of predation by a moon snail when they are seen to have a neat "
countersunk" hole drilled in them.
The powerful foot enables this gastropod to plow under the sand in search of other mollusks. Upon finding one, it "drills" a hole into the shell with its radula
The radula (, ; plural radulae or radulas) is an anatomical structure used by molluscs for feeding, sometimes compared to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food ...
, releases digestive enzymes
Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecule ...
, and sucks out the somewhat predigested contents.
References
* Gosner, K.L. 1971. ''Guide to identification of marine and estuarine invertebrates: Cape Hatteras to the Bay of Fundy''. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 693 p
* Abbott, R.T. (1974). ''American Seashells''. 2nd ed. Van Nostrand Reinhold: New York, NY (USA). 663 pp
* Linkletter, L.E. 1977. ''A checklist of marine fauna and flora of the Bay of Fundy''. Huntsman Marine Laboratory, St. Andrews, N.B. 68 p.
* Bromley, J.E.C., and J.S. Bleakney. 1984. ''Keys to the fauna and flora of Minas Basin''. National Research Council of Canada Report 24119. 366 p
* Brunel, P., L. Bosse, and G. Lamarche. 1998. C''atalogue of the marine invertebrates of the estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence''. Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 126. 405 p
* Trott, T.J. 2004. ''Cobscook Bay inventory: a historical checklist of marine invertebrates spanning 162 years''. Northeastern Naturalist (Special Issue 2): 261 - 324.
External links
Eco Field Guide: Northern moon snail
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3172991
Naticidae
Gastropods described in 1822