Drupella rugosa

Drupella rugosa, common name : the rugose drupe, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.[1]

Drupella rugosa
Feeding aggregation of Drupella Rugosa snails on Acropora branching corals on the island of Koh Tao, Thailand.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Neogastropoda
Superfamily:
Muricoidea
Family:
Muricidae
Subfamily:
Rapaninae
Genus:
Drupella
Species:
D. rugosa
Binomial name
Drupella rugosa
(Born, 1778)
Synonyms[1]
  • Murex concatenata Lamarck, 1822
  • Morula concatenata (Lamarck, 1822)
  • Murex concatenata Lamarck, 1822
  • Murex rugosa Born, 1778
  • Purpura alveolata Reeve, 1846
  • Purpura fragum Blainville, 1832
  • Purpura subturrita Blainville, 1832
  • Ricinula concatenata (Lamarck, 1822)

Description

Drupella rugosa is a creamy white to orange, conical shell with a height between 20 mm and 35 mm. The sculpture shows five spiral rows of rounded brown nodules separated by twelve axial ribs with fine granules, giving the shell a knobby appearance. The columella is narrow and the anal sinus hardly shows. The elliptical aperture is narrowed by protruding plaits. The outer lip is with five or six teeth.

Feeding patterns

Drupella rugosa is an obligate corallivore that grazes on the tissue of live corals, especially fast growing or structurally diverse corals such as Acropora and Montipora. Over-populations or outbreaks of the snail have been recorded in multiple regions since the 1980s,[2] and generally occur on reefs impacted by human activities or following mass mortality events such as coral bleaching.[3] D. Rugosa is known to contribute to secondary mortality following such events,[4] and have also been linked to increased prevalence of coral diseases.[5]

Distribution and Reproduction

This species is distributed in the intertidal zone and shallow rocky areas in the Red Sea and in the Indian Ocean along Aldabra, Chagos, Madagascar, the Mascarene Basin, the Gulf of Thailand,[3] and in the Western Pacific. Little is known about their reproductive cycle, however it was recently documented in the Gulf of Thailand that they use the skeletons of the corals they have recently consumed on which to lay their benthic eggs, particularly on corals of the Fungiidae Family[6].

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References
  1. Drupella rugosa (Born, 1778). Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 24 April 2010.
  2. Moyer, Jack T.; William K. Emerson; Michael Ross. "Massive destruction of scleractinian corals by the muricid gastropod, Drupella, in Japan and the Philippines". Nautilus. 96 (2): 69–82.
  3. Hoeksema, Bert W.; Chad M. Scott; James D. True (2013). "Dietary shift in corallivorous Drupella snails following a major bleaching event at Koh Tao, Gulf of Thailand". Coral Reefs. 32 (2): 423–428. doi:10.1007/s00338-012-1005-x.
  4. Antonius, A.; B. Riegl (1998). "Coral disease and Drupella cornus invasions in the Red Sea". Coral Reefs. 17 (1): 48. doi:10.1007/s003380050093.
  5. Lamb, Joleah; James D. True; Srisakul Piromvaragorn; Bette L. Willis (2014). "Scuba diving damage and intensity of tourist activities increases coral disease prevalence". Biological Conservation. 178: 88–96. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2014.06.027.
  6. Scott, Chad; Mehrotra, Rahul; Hoeksema, Bert W. (1 August 2017). "In-situ egg deposition by corallivorous snails on mushroom corals at Koh Tao (Gulf of Thailand)". Journal of Molluscan Studies. 83 (3): 360–362. doi:10.1093/mollus/eyx020.
  • Dautzenberg, Ph. (1929). Mollusques testaces marins de Madagascar. Faune des Colonies Francaises, Tome III
  • Drivas, J. & M. Jay (1988). Coquillages de La Réunion et de l'île Maurice
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