Snail ID

[kilo]

What is thishttp://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=381665

 

[Snail Guy]

Hi Kilo,

Looking at the pictures from that thread, it is not a whelk, but a predatory murex. Which species, I'm not sure without going through my references. If you wish for a precise ID, may help to know where they came from. Perhaps an Acanthina.

The "tooth" on the outer lip assists them for feeding on either bivalves or barnacles.

Cheers,
Bob

 

[kilo]

I also have this posted on the new to the hobby forum anywhere else I can find an answer? The pics are about as good as I can do. They have a great red foot and sharp tooth like snailguy said I got the from a lfs. Will they kill my snails?

 

[Snail Guy]

Kilo, the pictures are fine. Hard to say if they will kill your other snails but, without their normal prey available, they may. If your lfs can tell you where they were collected from, I may be able to provide you with more specific information.

Cheers, Bob

 

[NYGiants]

I just bought 3 of the same snails about a week ago ! according
to the LFS , they are from the caribbean. I wonder if the are a
cold water snail ...

tom

 

[Snail Guy]

I was surprised to discover that this is indeed a predatory whelk, and not a murex. The spine on the outer lip confused me, this a feature typically reserved for Muricids. The species, Opeastoma pseudodon, lives on rocky shorelines, preying upon barnacles. It is a Panamic species, ranging from Mexico south to Peru.

Cheers,
Bob

an add on... whelk is so commonly used with shells. Just to eliminate confusion, this particular species belongs to the family Fasciolaridae, which falls under the superfamily Buccinacae. Most everything we call whelks (but not all), fall under this superfamily.