SOME VERY SPINY MURICID GASTROPOD SHELLS

Family Muricidae (muricids) is a diverse family of marine snails with about 1,600 living species and about 1,200 recognized fossil species. They are voracious predators, and their shells range in size from small to large (up to 30.5 cm in length). Their shells are characterized by commonly having at least three varices (prominent longitudinal ridges indicating temporary stoppage of the growth of the shell).

Muricids can secrete a purple dye, which is used in ancient human cultures in the making of the "royal Tyrian purple," which is used to stain ceremonial robes. This dye, which is used by these snails for predation purposes, is toxic to crabs and fish. In a future post, I shall go into more detail about this interesting subject.

Many muricid species inhabit rocky or rubble bottoms, but many live on muddy bottoms, especially those living in depths greater than 200 m.

Based on the genera Morea and Sargana, the fossil record of muricids  (most likely extends as far back as near the end of the Late Cretaceous The earliest confirmed muricids (e.g., Poirieria, Paziella, Pterynotus) are of Paleocene age. 

The following series of five groups (A-E) shows images of the front and back views of five well-known examples of muricid shells. Each pertinent caption precedes its respective couplet of images.

(A) Siratus alabaster (Reeve, 1845) is known from SE Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines. This species lives in deep water and is locally common. Its shell is ivory white, up to 20 cm height, and has three winged (alate = weblike) varices. Including the spines, this specimen has a height of 13.5 cm and a width of 10 cm.

(B) Murex pecten Lightfoot, 1786, famously known as the “Venus comb,” is known from Japan to Queensland, Australia, and the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean. The shell of this muricid excessively sharp spines on its three varices. Emanating from the lateral varices on each side of its shell is a row of spines that curve downward, thereby causing the shell to be elevated above the ocean floor and creating a protected area when the head of the gastropod extends outward in order to feed. Including the spines, this shell has a height of 13.5 cm, and a width of 8 cm.

C) Murex tribulus Linnaeus, 1758 is known from the entire Indo-Pacific region [from SE Japan to NE Australia and E Africa). Including its spines, this shell has a height of 10.5 cm and a width of 6 cm.

D) Chicoreus cervicornis (Lamarck, 1822) is known from Queensland, Australia and north and west to northwestern Australia. This shell has a height of 6.5 cm and a width of 5.5 cm.

E) Homalocantha zamboi (Burch and Burch, 1960), is known from the Philippines and the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean. The illustrated specimen, which has a height of 5.5 cm and a width of 5 cm, has five varices.

References Consulted:

Radwin, G.E. and A.D’Attilio. 1976. Murex shells of the world. An illustrated guide to the Muricidae. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. 284 pp.

WoRMS (2023)

GUILDFORDIA: A GASTROPOD WITH A “STARBURST” PATTERN OF RADIATING SPINES 

Family Turbinidae, which has a long geologic record ranging from the Late Paleozoic (Permian Period) to modern day, includes the genus Guildfordia, which ranges from the Paleocene epoch (Darragh, 1997) to modern day; [note: this Paleocene species has no spines]. There are at least four living species of Guildfordia, all of which are found in pitch-dark, deep (100 to 200 m and possibly as deep as 500 m), cold marine waters, off Japan, the Philippine Islands, and less reportedly northern Australia. The delicate shells are mostly collected by means of dredge nets.  

One of the more “famous” species, Guildfordia yoka Jousseaume, 1888 (a.k.a. the “yoka star turban”) has a low-conic (flattish) shell, which is beautifully ornamented by nine to ten hollow, delicate spines arranged radially. These spines appear to provide stabilization of the shell on muddy bottoms. The interior of the shell is nacreous (shiny, like a rainbow). The largest shells of this species are reportedly up to 100 mm wide (including the spines).

Three views of G. yoka: dorsal, ventral, and right side; maximum diameter (including spines) of this specimen is 70 mm, height 18 mm. Specimen is from the western Pacific Ocean (exact locale unknown).

Cited Reference:

Darragh, T.A. 1997. Gastropoda, Scaphopoda, Cephalopoda, and new Bivalvia of the Paleocene Pebble Point Formation, Victoria, Australia. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, v. 109, no. 1, pp. 57–108.

AN UNUSUAL EOCENE VOLUTID GASTROPOD FROM PARIS BASIN, FRANCE

On a collecting trip in 1987 to Le Guépelle, in the Paris Basin of northern France, I found a nicely preserved specimen of a late middle Eocene (approximately 40 million-year old) shallow-marine gastropod. I did not realize until later, just how rare this specimen is. After spending considerable time and effort trying to identify it, my identification can only be tentative. This is because of the incompleteness of the data known about this species.

Athleta labrella? (Lamarck, 1802). Three views: front, right side (turned slightly), and back, respectively. Height 5 cm, width 4 cm. Specimen collected by R. Squires at the Le Guépelle quarry, Paris Basin, northern France.

My attempt to identify, with certainty, this fossil volutid took a lot twists and turns (which is not unusual in the world of paleontologic taxonomic research). I am aware that such details are not interesting to everyone. So, if you do not want to go down this “rabbit hole,” I understand. For those who are curious or somewhat curious, please continue to read the following text.

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After some searching, I finally found pictures that look just like “my” gastropod in the classic work by Cossmann and Pissarro (see images below). They identified this Paris Basin, France species as the volutid Athletla labralla (Lamarck, 1802). [Note: Some researchers reported that this work was published in 1803, even though the original paper by Lamarck can be found online, in a publication that was is dated as 1802].

Front and back views of a specimen of Athleta labralla found at Le Guépelle, northern France and figured by Cossmann and Pissarro (1910–1913, pl. 44, figs. 202-10 (two views).

I looked at Lamarck’s (1802, p. 479) original work. He referred to his species both as Voluta labrelle [in French] and as Voluta labrella [in Latin]. He had this species from Grignon in northern France [but not from Le Guépelle, where I and Cossmann and Pissarro found our specimens]. In the literature, the last letter of the word “labrelle” has been changed to read “labrella.” This is in keeping with the rule that the endings of Latinized species names have to agree with the gender of the genus name (e.g., the genus name Volta is feminine, thus the species name has to be spelled as labrella).

Lamarck’s description (in Latin) of his species is very short, but he did mention that the shell is carinate, which refers to the prominent shoulder on the last whorl. Although he provided drawings of his species, they were not available, until Palmer (1977, p. 33, figs. 15a, b) found his “lost figures” [which were referred to by Lamarck as “velins,”] and published them.

Voluta labrella from Palmer’s 1977 publication: p. 13, vélin 2, figs. 15a, b, of Lamarck’s drawings of his species 

When I saw Lamarck’s drawings of Voluta labrella (in Palmer’s publication, figs. 15a, b), I was quite surprised. As you can clearly see, the aperture of his specimen has a very pronounced indentation (“spout-like”) on the posterior corner of its outer lip side. I know of no other volutid, fossil nor modern, with such a similar feature. It seems very likely that Lamarck greatly enhanced this feature. Otherwise, his drawings are similar to the morphology of the specimens found by  Cossmann and Pissarro and by me. Until the actual specimen illustrated by Lamarck is found and photographed, I have to remain very skeptical that Lamarck’s species is the same as the one illustrated by me (in this post) and the species illustrated by by Cossman and Pissarro.

Note: Although Lamarck assigned his species to genus Voluta, this genus name has undergone considerable change in its meaning, with many new volutid genera having been added to cover the myriad of morphologic differences among these gastropods. Although the genus name Voluta is still valid today, it is now used in a greatly restricted manner than when early workers, like Lamarck, used it. In summary, Lamarck’s species does not belong in genus Voluta.

Based on the information available, I identify my specimen and the one that Cossmann and Pissarro figured, as being the same species, which is undoubtedly a volutid and most likely belongs to genus Athleta but questionably belongs to species labrella. 

Athleta is a very diverse genus and specimens are very common in middle Eocene rocks in northern France and southern England. Specimens typically have a very spinose spire and a spinose last-whorl shoulder (carina). Thus Lamarck’s labrella is quite atypical. The northern Europe Athleta athleta (shown below) looks most similar to Lamarack’s species, yet A. athleta is spiny. 

In closing, I am inclined to believe that labrella specimens could represent Athleta that lived in unusual (localized?) paleoenvironmental conditions. Also, photographic images and a more detailed description of labrella are sorely needed, including growth stages (juvenile vs. adult) information, in order to resolve the paleontologic status of Lamarck’s species.   

Front and back views of Athleta athleta (Solander), from Barton-on-Sea, Bartonian age, southern England. Specimen 4.3 cm high, 3 cm wide, found by John Quayle, 1986 and donated to the author. This species somewhat resembles Athleta labrella.

References Cited:

 

Squires, R.L. 1987. Eocene molluscan paleontology of the Whitaker Peak area, Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, California. Contributions in Science, no. 388, 93 pp.

Lamarck, J.B.P.A. de Monet. 1802. Mémoires sur Annales du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle. Tome Premier. Paris. 507 pp. 

Cossmann, M. and Pissarro, G. 1910-1913. Iconographie complete des coquilles fossiles de l’Eocene des environs de Paris. Vol. 2 (Gastropodes, etc.), 65 pls., Paris.

Palmer, V.W. 1977. The unpublished vélins of Lamarck (1802–1809). Illustrations of fossils of the Paris Basin Eocene. Paleontological Research Institution, New York. 67 pp., 52 pls. 

A "GIANT" AMONG MINATURE SHELLS

Triphora princeps G.B. Sowerby III, 1904 is a shallow-marine gastropod seashell belonging to family Triphoridae, which occurs worldwide. Most species of this family live in soft bottoms in the Indo-Pacific region between the intertidal zone to a depth of 200–500 m, with some even deeper (below 1000 m). 

In some places triphorid gastropods are especially diverse. An excellent example is in the islands complex of Vanuata, in the southwest Pacific Ocean. In this region, there are at least 259 known species), and 70% of them are new to science (Albano et al., 2019).

There are numerous species of recent triphorid gastropods in most museum collections, and many of these species are undescribed and/unnamed. 

Triphorid gastropods are typically small in size (commonly 2 to 10 mm in length, with only exceptionally as much as approximately 50 mm. Most have sinistral-coiled (left-hand coiled) high-spired shells (Wikipedia, 2022), like the shell illustrated below.

Triphora princeps is known from the Philippine Islands, and an example of this species is illustrated above (two views: apertural and abapertural). The largest shell of this particular species is known to be 58 mm long and 7 mm wide. The one illustrated below is close to that record size, as it is 51.7 mm long and 8.2 mm wide, but its tip is missing. Its shell is left-hand coiled (sinistrally coiled). It is safe to say that T. princeps is a "giant" among triphorids, and it is among the largest known species of this genus.

Triphora has a fossil record extending from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian Stage) to Recent.

Reference:

Albano, P.G., A.J. Piet Bakker, and B. Sabelli. 2019. Annoted catalog of the types of Triphoridae (Mollusca, Gastropoda) in the Natural History Museum of the United Kingdon, London. Zoosystematics and Evolution 95(1):161–308. [a pdf is available free via the internet]

LIVING BRACHIOPODS

Brachiopods belong to phylum Brachiopoda. They have a long geologic history, stemming from the Cambrian Period and ranging into modern times. They were the most diverse during the Paleozoic, where as today, they are a relatively minor group of invertebrates, found mostly in intermediate to deep depths in the ocean. 

There are two classes within phylum Brachiopoda: Class Inarticulata (Cambrian to Holocene = recent) and Class Articulata (Cambrian to Holocene). In the inarticulates, the two valves are weakly held together by muscles. In the articulates, the two valves are united along a hinge line by means of teeth and sockets, which help to securely hold the valves together (even after death of the animal), thereby greatly increasing the chances of articulates to be fossilized. 

Inarticulates are represented mostly by lingulids, which are burrowers. These are found most commonly in black muds laid down in poorly oxygenated brackish intertidal and lagoonal waters in tropical and subtropical shallow-marine areas. Astonishingly, in this setting, which is ill-suited for most marine invertebrates, lingulid brachiopods have lived with virtually no change in their external form, from the Cambrian to modern day.

Side view of the living position of a lingulid brachiopod in its burrow. The lophophore is a soft organ consisting of ciliated and coiled tentacles (brachia) whose function is to circulate water, distribute oxygen, and remove carbon dioxide. Water currents generated by the cilia move food particles toward the mouth. Note: The name “brachiopod” (brachio, arm; pod, foot) refers to the brachia of the lophophore, which were assumed wrongly by early workers to function for locomotion purposes. 

The fleshy stalk (pedicle), by which the lingulid attaches itself to the floor of its burrow, is much longer than the brachiopod shell. Lingula anatina lives in a vertical position in its burrow, with the pedicle extending into the mud/sand with the upper edges of the two calcium-phosphate valves (shells) situated just below the ocean-floor surface. The burrow can be as deep as 30 cm. At low tide, or when disturbed, the animal withdraws itself down its burrow by contracting its pedicle. This particular brachiopod lives today mainly in Japan at depths from the tidal zone to about 42 m (138 ft.) (Wikipedia, 2023). It is common in coastal mudflats and can survive for a short period of time in tidal water made brackish by river-flood waters.

Exterior view of both the left and right valves of a modern-day specimen of Lingula anatina Lamarck, 1801. These disarticulated valves are 3.5 cm long and 1.6 cm wide and is from Queensland, Australia. 

Interior view of the preceding valves of L. anatina. Specimen is 40 mm long and 38.5 mm wide.

Side view of the exterior of a specimen of an articulate brachiopod. The slightly larger valve (pedicle valve) has a pedicle opening (called the foramen) through which a short, leathery pedicle extends and attaches to the substrate (e.g., pebbles). The two valves, which consist of calcite, are biconvex and resemble an ancient Roman oil lamp, hence, the common name “lamp shells” for articulate brachiopods. The valves are strongly held together by teeth and sockets (i.e., the valves are articulated together; hence the name: “articulate brachiopods.”

Side view of the interior and the “soft parts” of an articulate brachiopod.

Exterior views of a modern-day specimen of the articulate brachiopod Laqueus californicus (Koch, 1848). This specimen is 40 mm long and 38.5 mm wide.  Notice the pedicle, which extends out from the inside of the pedicle valve.

Interior views of the preceding specimen of the extant (living) articulate brachiopod Laqueus californicus dredged from 40–50 fathoms depth off Catalina Island, southern California. The loop-shaped calcareous ribbon (brachidium) provides support for the lophophore. The markings on the inside of the valve bearing the pedicle are called the pallial markings; they were formed by fluid-filled passageways of the fleshy body-well.

SOME NAMES OF GROUPS OF ANIMALS

 In recent months, as I worked on some of my posts,

I came across some unusual names concerning groups

of animals. These are compiled below, but this list is by

no means complete.

ANIMAL GROUPS	COLLECTIVE NAMES
apes	shrewdness
baboons	troop
bats	cloud, colony, or cauldron
bees	swarm
buffalo	gang
butterflies	kaleidoscope, flutter
camels	caravan
cheetahs	coalition
chickens	brood or peep
chicks	clutch or clattering
clams	bed
cockroaches	intrusion
crabs	cast
crows	quiver
crocodiles	float or bask
crows	murder
dolphins	pod
eagles	convocation
eels	bed
emus	mob
flamingos	stand or flamboyance
foxes	skulk or leash
frogs	army
geese	gaggle
giraffes	tower
goldfish	troubling
grasshopper	cloud
hippopotami	bloat or thunder
hummingbird	charm
hyenas	cackle
iguana	slaughter
jaquars	shadow
jellyfish	smack or brood
kangaroos	mob or troop
lady bugs	loveliness
lemurs	conspiracy
leopares	leap
lice	flock
locusts	plague
magpies	tiding or titterin
manatees	aggregation
moles	labor
mosquitoes	scourge
moths	eclipse
narwhals	blessing
otters	raft or romp
owls	parliament
pandas	embarressment
parrots	pandemonium or company
peacocks	muster
pigs	drift or drove
polar bears	auroa or cebration
porcupines	prickle
rabbits	warren
raccoons	gaze
rattlesnakes	rhumba
ravens	unkindness
rhinoceroses	crash
scorpions	nest
seagulls	squabble
seals	harem
sharks	shiver or frenzy
skunks	stench
sloths	bed
snails	rout, walk, hood, or escargatoive
spiders	cluster
squid	audience
squirrels	scurry
stingrays	fever
swans	bevy
termites	brood
tigers	ambush
toads	knot
trout	hover
turkeys	gang, posse, or rafter
turtles	bale
vultures	venue or committee
wasps	pledge
wombats	wisdom
worms	bunch
zebras	zeal or dazzle
WEBSITES CONSULTED:
arapahoelibraries.org
owlication.com
yourdictionary.com
www.treehugger.com.animals.wildlife