Cassis flammea

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Cassis flammea
Cassis flammea 01.JPG
Five views of a shell of Cassis flammea
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Littorinimorpha
Superfamily:
Tonnoidea
Family:
Cassidae
Subfamily:
Cassinae
Genus:
Cassis
Species:
C. flammea
Binomial name
Cassis flammea

Cassis flammea is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cassidae, the helmet snails and bonnet snails.[1]

Distribution[]

Cassis flammea is found in Florida, the Caribbean, and Bahamas. Its abundance has decreased due to overcollecting in some areas.[2]

Description[]

It has a shell with shades of reddish-brown with wavy stripes. There are dark stripes on the outer lip of the shell. The lip around the aperture forms a triangle shape. The shell may reach a maximum of 7 inches in length.[2] The shell may be covered by algae or other sessile marine organisms.

The maximum recorded shell length is 154 mm.[3]

Cassis flammea feeding on algal mat in sand, Bamboo Point, San Salvador Island, Bahamas

Habitat[]

Cassis flammea inhabits shallow tropical waters, in the depth range of 10 to 35 ft, usually in the sand around reefs.[citation needed]

The minimum recorded depth for this species is 1 m; maximum recorded depth is 12 m.[3]

Feeding habits[]

These sea snails feed on sea urchins, which they typically hunt at night.[2]

References[]

  1. ^ Cassis flammea (Linnaeus, 1758). WoRMS (2010). Cassis flammea (Linnaeus, 1758). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=419777 on 14 August 2010 .
  2. ^ a b c Humann P. (1992). Reef creature Identification, Edited by Ned Deloach. New World Publications, Inc., pp. 206–207.
  3. ^ a b Welch J. J. (2010). "The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". PLoS ONE 5(1): e8776. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0008776.

External links[]

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