Thylacodes arenarius

Thylacodes arenarius
A live individual of Thylacodes arenarius
Shells of Thylacodes arenarius on display at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Littorinimorpha
Superfamily: Vermetoidea
Family: Vermetidae
Genus: Thylacodes
Species: T. arenarius
Binomial name
Thylacodes arenarius
(Linnaeus, 1767) [1]
Synonyms
  • Serpula arenaria Linnaeus, 1758
  • Vermetus gigas Bivona in Philippi, 1836
  • Lemintina arenaria
  • Serpulorbis arenarius (Linnaeus, 1758)

[2]

Thylacodes arenarius is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Vermetidae, the worm snails or worm shells. [1]

Description

Shells of T. arenarius are irregular, and can reach a length of about 100–200 millimetres (3.9–7.9 in).[3][4] The diameter of the round opening reach 11–15 millimetres (0.43–0.59 in). The inner surface is smooth and shiny. These shells are cemented onto a hard surface and resemble the calcareous tubes of certain marine worms, for example worms in the polychaete family Serpulidae. The visible part of the body is red with cream markings. The foot of this mollusk is atrophied and it has lost its function of movement. [5]

Distribution

This species can be found in the Mediterranean Sea - Eastern Basin[3] and in the North Atlantic Ocean - European waters. [1]

References


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