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.
King Helmet Snail
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Cassis tuberosa
Class:
Gastropoda
Order:
Littorinimorpha
Family:
Cassidae
Image Voucher:
ANSP 390770
Shell Information
Length (mm): 76-301
Dextral
Chirality:
The king helmet has about 6 shell whorls with a very large body whorl. The body whorl has a spiral rows of knobs and a fine grid of spiral and axial ribs. The aperture is long and narrow and the lip that forms on adults has a triangular shape. Both sides of the inner aperture have a series of folds with a dark brown color between them. The outer shell is often yellowish white to tan with irregular axial zigzags of brown color.
Description:
Ecological Information
Distribution:
Depth (m):
North Carolina to Brazil
0 to 27 meters
Diet:
Carnivore; They eat a variety of sea urchins.
Habitat:
Marine; Soft substrate and among seagrass
Misc. Facts
Citations
MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Cassis tuberosa (Linnaeus, 1758). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=224977 on 2021-06-23
Rosenberg, G., F. Moretzsohn, and E. F. Garc�a. 29. Gastropoda (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 579�699 in Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico�Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, Texas.
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/