Cymatium pileare

Cymatium (Septa) pileare
A shell of Cymatium (Septa) pileare with the periostracum removed, anterior end at the bottom
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Littorinimorpha
Superfamily:	Tonnoidea
Family:	Ranellidae
Genus:	Cymatium
Subgenus:	Septa
Species:	C. (Septa) pileare
Binomial name
Cymatium (Septa) pileare (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms[1]
Cymatium (Monoplex) pileare orientalis Garcia-Talavera, 1987 Cymatium (Septa) pileare (Linnaeus, 1758) Cymatium martinianum d'Orbigny, 1847 Cymatium prima Pilsbry, 1945 Cymatium vestitum insulare Pilsbry, 1921 Dissentoma velei Calkins, 1878 Litiopa effusa C. B. Adams, 1850 Monoplex pilearis (Linnaeus, 1758) Murex pilearis Linnaeus, 1758 Saginafusus pricei perficus Iredale, 1931

Cymatium (Septa) pileare, common name the hairy triton, is a species of medium-sized predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Ranellidae, the tritons. ^[2]

Subspecies

• Cymatium (Septa) pileare martinianum (Orbigny, 1847)

Distribution

This species is widespread in the Atlantic, in the Red Sea and in the Indo-Western Pacific from East and South Africa, to eastern Polynesia, north to southern Japan and Hawaii and south to southern Queensland. ^[3][4][5][6]

Habitat

This tropical benthic sea snails can be found at a depth range of 0 - 50 m. ^[5] They mainly live on hard and coarse detritic bottoms, in coral reef areas. ^[6]

A shell of Cymatium pileare from Maluku Islands, on display at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano

Description

Shells of Cymatium pileare can reach a size of 38–140 millimetres (1.5–5.5 in).^[3] These large shells are elongate with a tall spire and a strongly inflated body whorl. They show a yellowish-brown surface with chestnut- brown spiral ribs. The columella and the aperture are dark brown with white teeth. ^[7] The outer sculpture is relatively fine, with long inner ridges of the outer lip, extending deep into the aperture. ^[6]

Biology

These sea snails are active predators. They are reported as feeding on bivalves. Eggs are laid on the substrate in large capsules clustered in masses. ^[6]

A shell of Cymatium pileare

References

1. Biolib
2. WoRMS : Cymatium pileare (Linnaeus, 1758)
3. Hardy's Internet Guide to Marine Gastropods
4. Galli C.: WMSDB - Worldwide Mollusc Species Data Base
5. Sea Life Base
6. Cymatium pileare at FAO.org
7. Angeline Myra Keen Sea Shells of Tropical West America: Marine Mollusks from Baja California to Peru

Bibliography

• A.G. Hinton - Shells of New Guinea & Central Pacific
• Abbott, Robert Tucker (1974) , American Seashells: The Marine Mollusca of the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts of North America. 2nd ed
• Bernard, P.A. (Ed.) (1984). Coquillages du Gabon [Shells of Gabon]. Pierre A. Bernard: Libreville, Gabon. 140, 75 plates pp.
• Cornelis Swennen, Robert Moolenbeek, N. Ruttanadakul - Molluscs of the Southern Gulf of Thailand
• F. Pinn - Sea Snails of Pondicherry
• G. T. Poppe - Philippine Marine Molluscs Vol. 1
• ITIS: The Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Orrell T. (custodian)
• Ngoc-Thach Nguyên - Shells of Vietnam
• R. Tucker Abbott - Seashells of South East Asia
• Thomas Henning and Jens Hennens - Ranellidae and Personidae of the WorldMarine