Clea scalarina

Clea scalarina
Conservation status
Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Caenogastropoda

clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Neogastropoda

Superfamily: Buccinoidea
Family: Buccinidae
Genus: Clea
Subgenus: Anentome
Species: C. scalarina
Binomial name
Clea scalarina
(Deshayes in Deshayes & Jullien, 1876)
Synonyms

Canidia scalarina Deshayes, 1874

Clea scalarina[1] is a Southeast Asian species of freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Buccinidae, the true whelks, most of which are marine.[2][3]

Distribution

This species occurs in the Mekong River in the Khong District, Champasak Province in southern Laos, and in Mekong in the Ban Dan District and Ubon Ratchathani Province in eastern Thailand.[4]

Feeding habits

Like all snails in the clade Neogastropoda, this species is carnivorous. It feeds on different types of worms and gastropods, often eating other, larger snails after burying themselves and ambushing their prey.[3]

Reproduction

Clea scalarina consists of defined male and female genders, and are not capable of gender change. It is unknown as to how to sex these animals. Both male and female seem to be the same size and shape. When a male and female mate, they lock together for eight to twelve hours.

References

  1. Clea scalarina at the Catalogue of Life
  2. Bouchet, P.; Fraussen, K. (2013). "Clea – H. Adams & A. Adams, 1855". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Monks, Neale (2009). "Assassin Snails and Sulawesi Elephant Snails: Keeping Clea and Tylomelania in the aquarium". Conscientious Aquarist Magazine 6 (4). Retrieved March 11, 2014. Clea are whelks, most of which live in the sea. Like their marine relatives, Clea are opportunistic carnivores that feed on both live prey and carrion. Among the prey taken are snails, and it is this that has made them popular with fishkeepers. Clea stay partially hidden under the sediment, and if a snail slides past, then quickly (by snail standards) jump into action, chasing their prey and eventually subduing it.
  4. "Map of Clea scalarina". Discover Life. National Biological Information Infrastructure. Retrieved March 8, 2014.