Phasianella australis
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| Australian Pheasant | ||||||||||||
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| Phasianella australis Gmelin, 1788 |
Phasianella australis, common names Australian pheasant, painted lady, and pheasant snail, is a medium-sized to large species of sea snail with a calcareous operculum and a colorfully patterned shell, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Turbinidae, the turban snails.
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[edit] Distribution
One of southern Australia's most beautiful, larger shells, this turban snail is endemic to southern Australia, from Western Australia to Victoria, including Tasmania.
[edit] Habitat
The Australian pheasant shell is found at and below low tide levels on algae and seagrass, to 5 metres depth. It has been seen to be feeding on sea lettuce, Ulva lactuca.
[edit] Description
This is the largest species in the genus Phasianella, its length ranging from 40 to 100 mm, and width 26 mm. The shiny shell is long, thin and turban-shaped. It has eight smooth, rounded, whorls that have a deep valley-shaped suture between them. It has a high pointed spire. The aperture is tear-drop shaped. The white, oval-shaped, calcareous operculum is solid and pointed at one end. The umbilicus is sealed, and there is no periostracum.
The shell pattern is very variable, richly marked with lines, blotches and patterns of delicate tints and shapes. The most frequent colours are pink, rose, cream, brown and red.
The fertilisation of its eggs occurs in water and its planktonic larvae hatch one day later.
