Homalocantha anatomica

Homalocantha anatomica (common name: "Pele's Murex" or "Anatomical Murex") is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.[1][2]

Homalocantha anatomica
Four views of a shell of Homalocantha anatomica
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Neogastropoda
Superfamily:
Muricoidea
Family:
Muricidae
Subfamily:
Muricinae
Genus:
Homalocantha
Species:
H. anatomica
Binomial name
Homalocantha anatomica
(Perry, 1811)
Synonyms[1]

Hexaplex anatomica Perry, 1811
Homalocantha fauroti Jousseaume, 1888
Murex rota Mawe, 1823

Taxonomy
  • Subspecies Homalocantha anatomica anatomica Perry, 1811
  • Subspecies Homalocantha anatomica elatensis Heiman & Mienis, 2009 : synonym of Homalocantha elatensis Heiman & Mienis, 2009
  • Subspecies Homalocantha anatomica pele H. A. Pilsbry, 1921
  • Variety Homalocantha anatomica var. zamboi Burch & Burch, 1960 : synonym of Homalocantha zamboi (Burch & Burch, 1960)

Distribution

This species is distributed in the Red Sea and throughout the Indo-Western Pacific, from Japan, Philippines and Fiji to the Hawaiian Islands.[3][4][5]

A shell of Homalocantha anatomica from Japan on display at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano

Description

Adult shell size of Homalocantha anatomica varies between 38 mm and 63 mm.[3] These shells are solid, whitish in color, sometimes tinted with yellow or red and moderately light in weight, with five to six varices per whorl. Aperture is small and white or pink. Labial lip shows irregular denticles. Columella is smooth and siphonal canal is moderately long.[4]

Biology

These sea snails feed primarily on boring mussels in reef rocks.

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References
Shells of Homalocantha anatomica
  1. Homalocantha anatomica (Perry, 1811). Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 22 December 2010.
  2. Biolib
  3. "Homalocantha anatomica anatomica". Gastropods.com. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  4. California Malacozoological Society - Northern California Malacozoological Club The Veliger /1967-1968), Vol. 10, pg. 128
  5. Galli C.: WMSDB - Worldwide Mollusc Species Data Base

Bibliography
  • A.G. Hinton - Guide to Shells of Papua New Guinea
  • Abbott and Dance (1982). "Compendium of Seashells"
  • Drivas, J.; Jay, M. (1987). Coquillages de La Réunion et de l'Île Maurice. Collection Les Beautés de la Nature. Delachaux et Niestlé: Neuchâtel. ISBN 2-603-00654-1. 159 pp.
  • F. Springsteen and F. M. Leobrera - Shells of the Philippines
  • George E. Radwin - Murex Shells of the World - An Illustrated Guide to the Muricidae
  • Hirofumi Kubo and Taiji Kurozumi - Molluscs of Okinawa
  • Severns, M. (2000). "Hawaiian Seashells"
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