Help with snail id...please

[Conky]

I would normally post this to Dr. Shimek's forum, but he's out till Saturday, so I was hoping I could get some help from some snail scholars

I received several of the attached critters, labeled as queen conchs, by a fairly reputable wholesaler in CA. Clearly, they are not conchs...I'm thinking whelks but am no expert. Was hoping maybe they were a very large variety of Nassarius. Hope someone can help. Several pictures will be attached in the succeeding posts (only one will fit per post). See succeeding posts for pics.

Thanks in advance,
Mike

 

[Conky]

image 1

image 1

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[Conky]

2

 

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3

 

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4

 

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5

 

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6

 

[Conky]

and lucky 7.

Thanks again

 

[Conky]

Any ideas? Anyone?

 

[MiNdErAsR]

Sorry...no idea on that one. Definitely not queen conchs.

 

[Conky]

Yeah, what's worse is that they were listed as captive bred queen conchs...the only type I'm allowed to have. What a farce. I guess it's just a sales ploy, but I can't believe that wholesalers think (most) people are that stupid. Oh well.

 

[Klobee]

Conky,

Looks to me definitely like Nassarius sp. (might e N.vibex...do a search on Google and you will find a dozen or so sites with pictures of these and many other species of Nassarius, they seem to vary quite a bit in shell shape amongst the different species). Hope this helps.

Rick K.

 

[Conky]

Thanks Rick. You da bomb.

 

[Rothie]

That doesn't look like an N. vibex at all to me.You might try Dr. Rons forum anyway.There are some knowledgable hobbiests that watch that forum and might be able to help.

 

[Conky]

Rothie,

Actually, all the pics I've found are VERY consistent with what I'm seeing. Particularly these:
http://www.gastropods.com/0/Shell_1930.html
The one at the bottom is almost identical. The "flare on the left side of the aperture (I'm sure this term is not correct) is exactly the same. Size is consistent as well. However, you're right, I do plan on contacting Dr. Shimek on Sat (when he gets back) just to make sure. Thanks for the input though. All opinions/ideas are welcome and appreciated.

 

[Klobee]

Like I said, it "might" be N.vibex, really depends which site you look at, and then how reliable the identification is on that site. You know how it goes, anyone can take a picture and say it is "this" or "that,"but unless you key it out yourself, then you are just hoping that they are right.

Check out this link, the pictures you have are very similar to the one on here, you just have to ask yourself if you trust their identification. Good luck.

http://www.aquaticrealmsllc.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=27

Rick K.

 

[Rothie]

Conky-That last link you posted looks exactly like my N vibex.The ones you have don't have the "elephant trunk" (I only looked at your first pic)and yours also has lots of little teeth like grooves in the shell opening.I don't know the terms either.

 

[Conky]

Rothie,

The pictures I posted were done in haste (at work...on top of ESV buckets and digital thermometer case). The "snorkel" is actually HUGE on these guys. You're right about the grooves, though. They are very distinct. If you look closely at the link I posted, you can see similar grooves, though (haven't counted them...yet...don't know if that makes a difference) not as pronounced in the picture. May have to do with age/size. The main thing I wanted to know was whether they were Nassarius or not, and consensus seems to be yes. I figured it was a whelk, and Nassarius are the only safe ones I know of. Thanks again for the input. I'll be posting this in Ron's forum at about...12:01 AM Sat just to make sure. I'm confident that they are Nasarius, though.

 

[Rothie]

Conky-The pics are great.I looked through them all this AM.Those are not Nassarius.I would not let them loose in your tank until you hear from Dr. Ron.

 

[Conky]

Thanks Rothie...I'll keep you posted when I hear back from Dr. Shimek. For now they are residing in the refugium of my prop system...didn't have much choice on where to put them. They headed straight into the sand and haven't seen them since. If they turn out to be malevolent, I guess we can put them in some of the FO tanks...