Melongena
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Melongena, commonly known as the crown conchs, is a genus of large sea snails which have an operculum. These are marine gastropod mollusks in the family Melongenidae, the crown conchs and busycon whelks.
The shells of Melongena species are extremely variable in shape and sculpture, and historically this has meant that a large number of different forms have been named, creating numerous synonyms.
There is still some disagreement about how many species of Melongena actually exist. However, phylogenetic analysis indicate that there are only three species in the Western Atlantic, with all snails in coastal Florida being referred to Melongena corona (Hayes 2003).
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[edit] Distribution
The genus Melongena occurs only in the tropical Americas. It appears that three nominally valid species occur in the tropics of the western Atlantic: one in Florida, one in the Yucatan, and one in Central America and the Caribbean. A fourth species is found on the tropical eastern Pacific coast.
[edit] Habitat
Species within this genus live in the tropical intertidal zone, in muddy areas such as under mangrove trees.
[edit] Life habits
Melongena snails are carnivorous, primarily preying on small bivalves (clams, mussels & oysters). They will also feed on other species of snails and have been known to be canibilistic (Hayes 2003)
[edit] Species within the genus Melongena
Western Atlantic species:
- Melongena corona (Gmelin, 1791) - Florida crown conch
- Melongena bicolor or Melongena corona bicolor (Say, 1826)
- Melongena sprucecreekensis or Melongena corona sprucecreekensis Tucker, 1994 - Spruce Creek snail
- Melongena melongena (Linnaeus, 1758) - Caribbean crown conch
- Melongena bispinosa (Philippii, 1844) - Yucatan crown conch
Eastern Pacific species:
- Melongena patula (Broderip & Sowerby, 1829) - Pacific crown conch
[edit] References
- Melongena (TSN 74100). Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- Abbott, R. Tucker, 1986. Seashells of North America, St. Martin's Press, New York
- Keen, A. Myra, 1971. ‘’Sea shells of tropical west America’’, Stanford University Press, Stanford, California
- Hayes, K. A., 2003. Phylogeography and Evolution of the Florida Crown Conch (Melongena corona) MS Thesis University of South Florida, Department of Biology.
