Cominella glandiformis
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| Cominella glandiformis | ||||||||||||||||
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| Cominella glandiformis (Reeve, 1847) |
Cominella glandiformis, or the mud whelk or mud-flat whelk is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Buccinidae, the true whelks.
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[edit] Distribution
This species is endemic to New Zealand.
[edit] Habitat
This active carnivore is common on mud and sandy flats in sheltered waters.
[edit] Shell description
The shell is small, ovate, and fairly solid, with a wide smooth concave shoulder slope, and an axially costate to nodulous periphary. Cominella glandiformis has an acute sense of smell, being able to detect food up to 30 metres away, even when the tide is out.
The shell coloration is buff to greenish-grey, often broadly zoned from the periphery downwards, or with several narrow bands, in purplish-brown. The interior of the aperture is similarly coloured. Usually the surface is badly eroded and stained green with algae.
The shell height is up to 25 mm, and width 13 mm.
[edit] References
- Powell A W B, New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
- Glen Pownall, New Zealand Shells and Shellfish, Seven Seas Publishing Pty Ltd, Wellington, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 85467 054 8
- Miller M & Batt G, Reef and Beach Life of New Zealand, William Collins (New Zealand) Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1973
