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''Charonia'' is a
/ref>
Snails that eat Starfish : Predation in the tropical Indo-Pacific
/ref> The giant triton has gained fame for its ability to capture and eat crown-of-thorns starfish, a large species (up to 1 m in diameter) covered in venomous spikes an inch long. The crown-of-thorns starfish has few other natural predators, and are capable of destroying large sections of coral reef. Tritons can be observed to turn and give chase when the scent of prey is detected. Some starfish (including the crown-of-thorns starfish) appear to be able to detect the approach of the mollusc by means which are not clearly understood, and they will attempt flight before any physical contact has taken place. Tritons, however, are faster than starfish, and only large starfish have a reasonable hope of escape, and then only by abandoning whichever limb the snail seizes first. The triton grips its prey with its muscle, muscular foot and uses its toothy radula (a serrated, scraping organ found in gastropods) to saw through the starfish's armoured skin. Once it has penetrated, a paralyzing saliva subdues the prey and the snail feeds at leisure, often beginning with the softest parts such as the Sex organ, gonads and Gut (zoology), gut. Tritons ingest smaller prey animals whole without troubling to paralyse them, and will spit out any poisonous spines, shells, or other unwanted parts later.
Species within the genus ''Charonia'' include:
* ''Charonia guichemerrei'' Lozouet, 1998 †
* ''Charonia lampas'' (
Charonia lampas sauliae 145a.jpg, ''Charonia lampas''
Charonia tritonis a1.jpg, ''
An article on the crown-of-thorns starfish
which contains excellent pictures of one being eaten by a triton. {{Taxonbar, from1=Q591104, from2=Q58377059 Charoniidae Gastropod genera Cenomanian genus first appearances Extant Late Cretaceous first appearances Taxa named by Johannes von Nepomuk Franz Xaver Gistel
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of very large sea snail, commonly known as Triton's trumpet or Triton snail. They are marine gastropod mollusks in the monotypic family Charoniidae.
Etymology
The common name "Triton's trumpet" is derived from theGreek god
The following is a list of gods, goddesses, and many other divine and semi-divine figures from ancient Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion.
Immortals
The Greeks created images of their deities for many purposes. A temple would house the ...
Triton
Triton commonly refers to:
* Triton (mythology), a Greek god
* Triton (moon), a satellite of Neptune
Triton may also refer to:
Biology
* Triton cockatoo, a parrot
* Triton (gastropod), a group of sea snails
* ''Triton'', a synonym of ''Triturus' ...
, who was the son of Poseidon
Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ...
, god of the sea. The god Triton is often portrayed blowing a large seashell horn similar to this species.
Fossil records
This genus is known in thefossil record
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
s as far back as the Cretaceous period
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of t ...
. Fossils are found in the marine strata throughout the world. Fossilworks/ref>
Description
Species within the genus ''Charonia'' have large fusiform shells, usually whiteish with brown or yellow markings. The shell of the giant triton ''Charonia tritonis
''Charonia tritonis'', common name the Triton's trumpet or the giant triton, is a species of very large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Charoniidae, the tritons. Reaching up to two feet (or 60 cm) in shell length this ...
'' (Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
, 1758), which lives in the Indo-Pacific, can grow to over half a metre (20 inches) in length.
One slightly smaller (shell size but still very large species, ''Charonia variegata
''Charonia variegata'', the Atlantic triton or Atlantic triton's trumpet, is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Charoniidae, the triton snails, triton shells, or tritons.
Distribution
This species has ...
'' (Lamarck
Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de Lamarck (1 August 1744 – 18 December 1829), often known simply as Lamarck (; ), was a French naturalist, biologist, academic, and soldier. He was an early proponent of the idea that biolo ...
, 1816), lives in the 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 ...
, from North Carolina to Brazil.
Distribution
''Charonia'' species inhabit temperate and tropical waters worldwide.Life habits
Unlike pulmonate and opisthobranch gastropods, tritons are not hermaphrodites; they have separate sexes and undergo sexual reproduction with internal fertilization. The female deposits white capsules in clusters, each of which contains many developing larvae. The larvae emerge free-swimming and enter the plankton, where they drift in open water for up to three months.Feeding behavior
Adult tritons are active predators and feed on other molluscs and starfish.Christopher MaSnails that eat Starfish : Predation in the tropical Indo-Pacific
/ref> The giant triton has gained fame for its ability to capture and eat crown-of-thorns starfish, a large species (up to 1 m in diameter) covered in venomous spikes an inch long. The crown-of-thorns starfish has few other natural predators, and are capable of destroying large sections of coral reef. Tritons can be observed to turn and give chase when the scent of prey is detected. Some starfish (including the crown-of-thorns starfish) appear to be able to detect the approach of the mollusc by means which are not clearly understood, and they will attempt flight before any physical contact has taken place. Tritons, however, are faster than starfish, and only large starfish have a reasonable hope of escape, and then only by abandoning whichever limb the snail seizes first. The triton grips its prey with its muscle, muscular foot and uses its toothy radula (a serrated, scraping organ found in gastropods) to saw through the starfish's armoured skin. Once it has penetrated, a paralyzing saliva subdues the prey and the snail feeds at leisure, often beginning with the softest parts such as the Sex organ, gonads and Gut (zoology), gut. Tritons ingest smaller prey animals whole without troubling to paralyse them, and will spit out any poisonous spines, shells, or other unwanted parts later.
Species and subspecies
Species within the genus ''Charonia'' include:
* ''Charonia guichemerrei'' Lozouet, 1998 †
* ''Charonia lampas'' (Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
, 1758)
* ''Charonia marylenae'' Petuch & Berschauer, 2020
* ''Charonia seguenzae'' (Aradas & Benoit, 1872)
* ''Charonia tritonis
''Charonia tritonis'', common name the Triton's trumpet or the giant triton, is a species of very large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Charoniidae, the tritons. Reaching up to two feet (or 60 cm) in shell length this ...
'' (Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
, 1758)
* ''Charonia variegata
''Charonia variegata'', the Atlantic triton or Atlantic triton's trumpet, is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Charoniidae, the triton snails, triton shells, or tritons.
Distribution
This species has ...
'' (Lamarck
Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de Lamarck (1 August 1744 – 18 December 1829), often known simply as Lamarck (; ), was a French naturalist, biologist, academic, and soldier. He was an early proponent of the idea that biolo ...
, 1816) - Caribbean Triton's trumpet
* ''Charonia veterior'' Lozouet, 1999 †
;Synonymized species:
* ''Charonia capax'' Finlay, 1926: synonym of ''Charonia lampas'' (Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
, 1758)
* ''Charonia digitalis'' (Reeve, 1844): synonym of ''Maculotriton serriale'' (Deshayes, 1834)
* ''Charonia eucla'' Hedley, 1914 : synonym of ''Charonia lampas'' (Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
, 1758)
* ''Charonia eucla instructa'' Tom Iredale, Iredale, 1929: synonym of ''Charonia lampas'' (Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
, 1758)
* ''Charonia grandimaculatus'' Reeve: synonym of ''Lotoria grandimaculata'' (Reeve, 1844)
* ''Charonia maculosum'' Gmelin: synonym of ''Colubraria maculosa'' (Gmelin, 1791) (new combination)
* ''Charonia mirabilis'' Parenzan, 1970: synonym of ''Charonia lampas'' (Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
, 1758)
* ''Charonia nodifera''(Lamarck, 1822): synonym of ''Charonia lampas'' (Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
, 1758)
* ''Charonia poecilostoma'' Smith, 1915: synonym of ''Ranella gemmifera'' (Euthyme, 1889)
* ''Charonia powelli'' Cotton, 1957 : synonym of ''Charonia lampas'' (Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
, 1758)
* ''Charonia rubicunda'' (Perry, 1811): synonym of ''Charonia lampas'' (Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
, 1758)
* ''Charonia sauliae'' (Reeve, 1844): synonym of ''Charonia lampas'' (Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
, 1758)
* ''Charonia seguenzae''(Aradas & Benoit, 1872) synonym of ''Charonia variegata'' (Lamarck, 1816)
* ''Charonia variegatus'' Reeve: synonym of ''Charonia variegata'' (Lamarck, 1816)
Charonia tritonis
''Charonia tritonis'', common name the Triton's trumpet or the giant triton, is a species of very large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Charoniidae, the tritons. Reaching up to two feet (or 60 cm) in shell length this ...
''
Charonia variegata c2.jpg, ''Charonia variegata
''Charonia variegata'', the Atlantic triton or Atlantic triton's trumpet, is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Charoniidae, the triton snails, triton shells, or tritons.
Distribution
This species has ...
''
References
* Beu A.G. 1998. ''Indo-West Pacific Ranellidae, Bursidae and Personidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda). A monograph of the New Caledonian fauna and revisions of related taxa''. Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle 178: 1-255External links
An article on the crown-of-thorns starfish
which contains excellent pictures of one being eaten by a triton. {{Taxonbar, from1=Q591104, from2=Q58377059 Charoniidae Gastropod genera Cenomanian genus first appearances Extant Late Cretaceous first appearances Taxa named by Johannes von Nepomuk Franz Xaver Gistel