Haustrum haustorium

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Haustrum haustorium
H. haustorium (2).JPG
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Neogastropoda
Family: Muricidae
Genus: Haustrum
Species:
H. haustorium
Binomial name
Haustrum haustorium
(Gmelin, 1791)

Haustrum haustorium, common name: the brown or dark rock shell, is a large species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.

Taxonomy[]

Haustrum haustorium used to be the only species in the genus Haustrum. However, Beu (2004) reclassified a number of New Zealand's whelks, considering species in the genus Lepsiella to be synonymous with the genus Haustrum.

Distribution[]

This species occurs in New Zealand.

Shell description[]

Haustrum haustorium adult, showing the callus, and the thin lip

A reliable characteristic for distinguishing Haustum haustorium from its congeners is the angle by which the aperture lip inserts on the shell: In Haustrum haustorium the angle is near-perpendicular, whereas in other species the angle is more acute (~45 degrees). Tan (2003) provides the most recent review.

Ecology[]

Habitat[]

This rock snail's typical habitat is the mid and lower eulittoral zone of New Zealand's semi-exposed rocky intertidal shores. It is less common on algal-dominated sheltered shores.

References[]

  • Powell A W B, New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
  • Beu, A. G. 1990. Molluscan generic diversity of New Zealand Neogene stages: extinction and biostratigraphic events. - Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 77: 279-288.
  • Glen Pownall, New Zealand Shells and Shellfish, Seven Seas Publishing Pty Ltd, Wellington, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-85467-054-8
  • Miller M & Batt G, Reef and Beach Life of New Zealand, William Collins (New Zealand) Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1973
  • Tan, K. S. 2003. "Phylogenetic analysis and taxonomy of some southern Australian and New Zealand Muricidae (Mollusca: Neogastropoda)". Journal of Natural History 37: 911–1028.
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