''Tonna cumingi'', common name Cuming's tun, 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 very 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 ...

, a tun snail, a

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 ...

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 ...

Tonnidae The Tonnidae are a family (biology), family of medium-sized to very large sea snails, known as the tun shells. These are marine invertebrates, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Littorinimorpha. The name ''tun'' refers to the snails' shell sh ...

, the tuns.Vos, C.; Marshall, B. (2015). Tonna cumingii. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=410210 on 2016-01-15

Taxonomy

The species currently referred to as ''Tonna cumingii'' (Hanley in Reeve, 1849) was referred to as: * ''Tonna canaliculata'' (Linnaeus, 1758) by Thach (2005:91, pl. 23, fig. 5) * ''Tonna cumingii'' 'Reeve' by (a. o.) Hedley (1919:331); Winckworth & Tomlin (1933:209); Hinton (1977:26); Powell (1979:161); Kilburn (1986:4); Thach (2005:91) The species currently referred to as ''

Tonna chinensis ''Tonna chinensis'', common name : the China tun, is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Tonnidae The Tonnidae are a family (biology), family of medium-sized to very large sea snails, known as the tun shells. ...

'' (Dillwyn, 1817) was referred to as ''Tonna cumingii'' (Hanley in Reeve, 1849) by Springsteen & Leobrera (1986:100, pl. 26, fig. 2) The species currently referred to as '' Tonna poppei'' Vos, 2005 was illustrated by Cernohorsky (1972:111); Hinton (1974:19, fig. 7; 1977:26 fig. 7a) and referred to as ''Tonna cumingii'' 'Reeve' The species currently referred to as '' Tonna deshayesii'' (Reeve, 1849) was referred to as ''Tonna cumingii'' 'Reeve' by (a. o.) Powell (1979:61); Cernohorsky (1972:112) Additional information on Cernohorsky (1972:111-112): Whilst showing specimens of ''Tonna poppei'' Vos, 2005 on pl. 30, figs 5, Cernohorsky lists this species as ''Tonna cumingii'' (Reeve, 1849), with in synonymy: "Synonyms of T. cumingii are deshayesii Reeve, 1849, perselecta Iredale, 1931, and maoria Powell, 1938. ''Tonna magnifica'' (Sowerby III 1904) belongs either to ''T. cumingii'' or ''T. chinensis'' " (fide Cernohorsy, 1972:112)

Distribution

This species is found often off the southern coasts of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. Populations of animals with similar-looking shells from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Powell A. W. B., William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland 1979 and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n waters have been assimilated into this species. Occasional records indicate a possible presence of the species in

Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

waters. Further study on this species should reveal its exact distribution. (Reference: Vos, 2007, A Conchological Iconography - Family Tonnidae)

Shell description

The shell height is up to 91 mm, and width up to 66 mm.

References

* Chris Vos and Alan Beu, 2007, A Conchological Iconography 13: The Family Tonnidae, ConchBooks,

External links

Gastropods.com: ''Tonna (Chinensis complex) cumingii''
Tonnidae Gastropods of New Zealand Gastropods described in 1849 {{Tonnidae-stub