| Terebridae | |
|---|---|
| live Acus maculatus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Neogastropoda |
| Superfamily: | Conoidea |
| Family: | Terebridae Mörch, 1852[1] |
| Genera | |
|
See text. |
|
| Diversity | |
| about 313 species[2] | |
The Terebridae, commonly referred to as auger shells or auger snails, are a group or taxonomic family of small to large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks.
These gastropods have extremely high spired shells with numerous whorls, and the common name refers to the resemblance of their shells to rock drill-type drill bits.
There are about 313 known species worldwide.[2]
Contents |
This family consists of two following subfamilies (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005):
However, Terryn[2] states that the subfamily Pervicaciinae would historically include solely the genus Duplicaria (and the genus Pervicaria, now included in Euterebra). The other genera would belong to the subfamily Terebrinae. Since there is no clear division and currently no taxonomic need the two subfamilies are nowadays no longer accepted.[3][4]
The shells of the sea snails in this family are typically shaped like slender augers or screws. In that respect they share certain shell characters with the family Turritellidae, the turret shells.
One characteristic that distinguishes Terebridae from Turritellidae is the short anterior canal or notch in the aperture of the shell. Terebridae shells also tend to have characteristically flattened versus convex whorls, and they often have one or two plaits on the columella.
Numerous species in this family are grouped under either the Terebra or the Hastula genus, and a minority of species are placed in four other genera.
These snails are sand-dwelling carnivores which live in warmer waters. In most species, a venomous barb similar to that of the cone snails, (see Conidae), is used to stun and immobilize prey, which typically consists of various marine worms.
Genera in the family Terebridae include:[2][5]