Malacology
Malacology is the study of mollusks. This includes animals like octopus, snails, slugs, and clams. It is the second largest phylum of animals, making them one of the most successful groups on the planet. There are over 80,000 described species of mollusks with many more left to be discovered. Mullusca is composed of 8 recognized classes including Cephalopoda, Gastropoda, Polyplacophora, Scaphapoda, Monoplacophorans, the Aplacophorans, Caudofoveata and Solenogastres, and Bivalvia.
Eastern Oyster Drill
(Say, 1822)
Urosalpinx cinerea
Class:
Gastropoda
Order:
Neogastropoda
Family:
Muricidae
Misc. Facts
These snails primarily feed on other mollusks. The Eastern Oyster Drill secretes enzymes to soften oyster shells. They then drill through the softened shell using a special modified radula.
Citations
MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Urosalpinx cinerea (Say, 1822). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=140429 on 2021-06-10
Morris, P. A. (1987). A field guide to shells: Atlantic and Gulf coasts and the West Indies (3rd ed.). Houghton Mifflin.
Rosenberg, G. 2009. Malacolog 4.1.1: A Database of Western Atlantic Marine Mollusca. [WWW database (version 4.1.1)] URL http://www.malacolog.org/