Morula granulata

Morula (Morula) granulata
A shell of Morula granulata from South Africa at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Neogastropoda
Superfamily: Muricoidea
Family: Muricidae
Subfamily: Ergalataxinae
Genus: Morula
Subgenus: Morula
Species: M. granulata
Binomial name
Morula (Morula) granulata
(Duclos, 1832)
Synonyms[1]
  • Drupa granulata (Duclos, 1832)
  • Drupa tuberculata (Blainville, 1832)
  • Morula (Morulina) ceylonica Dall, 1923
  • Morula tuberculata (Blainville, 1832)
  • Purpura cingulifera Kiener, 1835
  • Purpura granulata Duclos, 1832 (basionym)
  • Purpura tuberculata Blainville, 1832
  • Ricinula tuberculata (Blainville, 1832)
  • Sistrum chrysalis Sowerby, G.B. III, 1904
  • Sistrum granulatum Duclos, 1832

Morula (Morula) granulata, common name the mulberry shell, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.[1]

Description

The shell size varies between 18 mm and 30 mm. The conical, oblong shell is compact and contains no varices. It is covered with dark brown to black blunt knobs on a white background with spiral cords between the rows. The body whorl is covered with six rows of nodules. The outer lip is dentate with four to five teeth within. The narrow aperture is blackish. The columella and the inner lip are white.[1]

This globular shape, tight shell coiling, strong sculpture, a dentate outer lip and narrow aperture offers an added protection against shell-crushing predators, such as fishes and crabs.[2]

This mollusc is a predator and feeds by drilling sedentary or semi-mobile prey. It eats only other molluscs, mainly gastropods of the genera Cerithium, Rissoina, Heliacus, and Bittium, and the mussel Hormomya.[3]

Imposex in Morula granulata is a bioindicator for the presence of tributyltin (TBT) contamination (an anti-fouling paint for boats which affects females of the species).[4]

Distribution

This species is can be found on a rocky substrate or reef flats in the intertidal zone. It is distributed in the Red Sea, in the Indian Ocean along Aldabra Atoll, Chagos, East Coast of South Africa, Transkei, Natal, Kenya, Madagascar, the Mascarene Basin, Mozambique and Tanzania, and in the Indo-West Pacific.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Morula (Morula) granulata (Duclos, 1832).  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 19 November 2010.
  2. Vermeij, Geerat J.; John D. Currey (1980). "Geographical variation in the strength of thaidid snail shells". Biol. Bull. 158: 383–389. doi:10.2307/1540864. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  3. Kohn, Alan J. (1970). "Food Habits of the Gastropod Mitra litterata Lamarck: Relation to Trophic Structure of the Intertidal Marine Bench Community in Hawaii". Pacific Science 24 (4). hdl:10125/6126.
  4. Reitsema, T.J.; J.T. Spickett (1999). "Imposex in Morula granulata as Bioindicator of Tributyltin (TBT) Contamination in the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia". Marine Pollution Bulletin 39 (1-12): 280–284. doi:10.1016/S0025-326X(99)00091-0. Retrieved 19 November 2010.

External links

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