''Fusinus colus'',
common name
In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...
the Distaff spindle or Long-tailed Spindle, is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
sea snail
Sea snails are slow-moving marine (ocean), marine gastropod Mollusca, molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the Taxonomic classification, taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguishe ...
, a marine
gastropod
Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda ().
This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...
mollusk
Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...
in the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Fasciolariidae
Fasciolariidae is a family of small to large sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Buccinoidea. Species in Fasciolariidae are commonly known as tulip snails and spindle snails.
The family Fasciolariidae most likely appeared ...
, the spindle snails, the tulip snails and their allies.
Distribution
This species is present in the Indian Ocean and in the western and central Pacific Ocean, from East Africa to Melanesia, southern Japan, and southern Queensland.
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Habitat
These sea snails are common in coastal waters at depths of 5 to 40 m. They inhabit littoral and the tidal zone and prefer sandy bottoms. They feed on benthic invertebrates.
Description
The size of an adult shell can reach .[ These shells are thick, long, biconic, spindle-shaped, with many spiral ribs, grooves and nodules. The spire is elongated. The siphonal canal is very long. The outer surface is usually whitish, but may be yellowish, brown or reddish in color.
]
References
Bibliography
* A. G Hinton – Guide to shells of Papua New Guinea: 68 colour plates illustrating over 1,450 individual shells representing 950 distinct species Paperback
* Arianna Fulvo and Roberto Nistri (2005). 350 coquillages du monde entier. Delachaux et Niestlé (Paris) : 256 p. ()
* Callomon P. & Snyder M.A. (2007). On the genus Fusinus in Japan III: Nine further species, with type selections. Venus 66(1–2): 19–47.
* Cornelis Swennen and Robert Moolenbeek – The Molluscs of the southern Gulf of Thailand
* Drivas, J. & M. Jay (1988) Coquillages de La Réunion et de l'île Maurice
* Linnaeus C. 1758. Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima, reformata Vermes. Testacea. str. 753. Holmiae. (Salvius).
* Marais J.P. & R.N. Kilburn (2010) Fasciolariidae. pp. 106–137, in: Marais A.P. & Seccombe A.D. (eds), Identification guide to the seashells of South Africa. Volume 1. Groenkloof: Centre for Molluscan Studies. 376 pp.
colus
Gastropods described in 1758
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
{{Fasciolariidae-stub