Phalium glaucum

Phalium glaucum
Five views of a shell of Phalium glaucum (Linné, 1758)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Littorinimorpha
Superfamily: Tonnoidea
Family: Cassidae
Genus: Phalium
Species: P. glaucum
Binomial name
Phalium glaucum
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms[1]

Cassis glauca (Linnaeus, 1758)

Phalium glaucum, common name the grey bonnet or glaucus bonnet, is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cassidae, the helmet snails and bonnet snails.[1]

Distribution

This species is widespread in the Indo-Pacific, fron Eastern Africa (Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania) to Southern Japan and Melanesia. [2]

Shells of Phalium glaucum

Habitat

This species lives on sandy bottoms with seagrass meadows, in intertidal and shallow subtidal areas to a depth of about 10 m. [3]

Description

Shell of Phalium glaucum can reach a length of 60–147 millimetres (2.4–5.8 in).[2]

These shells are helmet shaped with a large body whorl and tiny spires. The surface of shell is smooth and uniformly greyish or pale brown. The molluscs have a white body and a large yellowish or whitish foot which is edged in reddish-brown. The operculum is bright yellow and fan-shaped. Usually this sea snail buries itself in the sandy areas with the long siphon sticking out. [3]

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 Phalium glaucum (Linnaeus, 1758). WoRMS (2009). Phalium glaucum (Linnaeus, 1758). Accessed through the World Register of Marine Species at http://marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=217006 on 14 August 2010.
  2. 1 2 Gastropods
  3. 1 2 Wild Singapore


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