| Bullia digitalis | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Neogastropoda |
| Superfamily: | Buccinoidea |
| Family: | Nassariidae |
| Subfamily: | Bullinae |
| Genus: | Bullia |
| Species: | B. digitalis |
| Binomial name | |
| Bullia digitalis |
|
Bullia digitalis, the Finger Plough Shell or Plough Snail, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Nassariidae, the Nassa mud snails or dog whelks[1].These dominant scavengers scent decaying animal matter from a considerable distance so that they converge from all directions to feed.
Contents |
Length: 60 mm
Narrow, smooth shell with a long, pointed spire, usually light yellow or creamy, often tinged with violet or yellow[2][3][4]. The large, oval foot is offwhite [4][2]. The operculum has serrated margins[2].
Lower east, south, south-west and west coast of South Africa [3]. Best viewing: Kei Mouth[5].
Common to locally very common[4]; the dominant plough shell on Atlantic shores[2].
Sandy beaches along the surf zone[3], low on the shore [2] from middle tidal zone seawards where the sand is not too coarse[4].
When the tide starts to rise, this snail emerges from the sand, spreads its large "foot" like a sail, and surfs up the beach in response to the smell of carrion[2][3]. The large foot is also used to burrow into the sand when the tide recedes[3]. Sticks its proboscis into the prey to suck up soft tissues [3]. Often gathers in large numbers to feed on dead and stranded jellyfish and bluebottles[2][3].
Various plough shells on the southern African coast look similar, including Bullia rhodostoma on the south coast and Bullia natalensis (Pleated Plough Shell) on the coast of KwaZulu-Natal[4]. B. digitalis however does not have pleated whorls like the Pleated Plough Shell[3]. All the common plough shells on the coast can only de differentiated for each other by their colour[4].