Melo broderipii
| Melo broderipii | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Five views of a shell of Melo broderipii | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Neogastropoda |
| Superfamily: | Muricoidea |
| Family: | Volutidae |
| Subfamily: | Amoriinae |
| Genus: | Melo |
| Species: | M. broderipii |
| Binomial name | |
| Melo broderipii (Griffith & Pidgeon, 1834) | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Voluta lamarckii Kiener, 1839 | |
Melo broderipii is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Volutidae, the volutes.[1]
Description
A large predatory sea snail mostly found in seas around the Philippines first identified and named by Gray. Measurements 90-200-250- 355 mm. One of the largest gastropod snails but not the largest in the Melo species.
Often referred to as a bailer shell as their shape makes them the perfect canoe bailer. Many tribes in New Guinea and other south pacific islands use the various types of Melo to make jewelry and shell money as well as canoe bailers. The large orange Melo pearls sometimes found were treasured especially by royalty in Vietnam in the past.[2]
References
- 1 2 Melo broderipii (Griffith & Pidgeon, 1834). Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010.
- ↑ A collectors guide to seashells of the world by Jerome M. Eisenberg
External links
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, November 22, 2013. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.