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Buccinidae

(Family)

Overview

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Buccinidae is a very large and diverse family of large sea snails, often known as whelks or true whelks (to distinguish them from the Busycon whelks). True whelks are marine and some genera freshwater gastropod mollusks in the clade Neogastropoda. The family includes more than 1500 species.

Habitat

The true whelks occur worldwide in all seas from tropical oceans to the cold seas of the Arctic Ocean and the Southern Ocean. They are found from the intertidal to the bathypelagic zone. Most prefer a solid bottom, but some inhabit sandy substrates.

Some genera from Buccinidae are freshwater, for example genus Clea.

Description

The shells of species in this family are moderate to lar ge in size, conical to fusiform in shape. The shell often has deep sutures. The shell surface is generally smooth, sometimes with a spiral and/ or axial sculpture. The thickness of the shell is more pronounced in tropical shallow-water species, while the shell of species living in moderate and colder waters is generally thin or moderately thin. The top of the whorls are more or less shouldered. The radial ribs of the shell sometimes show shoulder knobs. The aperture is large with a well-defined siphonal canal. The rim of the aperture is sometimes used to pry open the shell of bivalves. The aperture is closed by a horny operculum.

True whelks are carnivores and scavengers. They feed on clams, carrion and sometimes even on detritus. Their sense of smell is very well-developed; they can sense chemical signals from their prey from a considerable distance with their osphradium. Many whelks are capable of boring through the shell of bivalves, and because of this some species cause much harm in oyster farms. True whelks can even attack fish caught in a net extending their proboscis to twice the length of their own bodies.

The female whelk lays spongy egg capsules with hundreds of eggs. These form round clusters or a tower-shaped masses. Only about 10% of these eggs hatch. The larvae then feed on the rest of the eggs.

The flesh of the common northern whelk, Buccinum undatum, is much appreciated by connoisseurs as a food item, but its consumption is currently somewhat in decline.

Taxonomy

According to the Taxonomy of the Gastropoda (Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005) the family Buccinidae consists of six subfamilies :

Genera and Species

Photos

Taxonomy

The Family Buccinidae is a member of the Superfamily Buccinoidea. Here is the complete "parentage" of Buccinidae:

The Family Buccinidae is further organized into finer groupings including:

Genera

Aeneator

[more]

Afer

[more]

Africominella

[more]

Afrocominella

[more]

Americominella

[more]

Ancistrolepis

[more]

Anentome

[more]

Antarctodomus

Antarctoneptunea

Antillophos

[more]

Antistreptus

[more]

Aoteatilia

[more]

Atractodon

[more]

Aulacofusus

[more]

Austrofusus

[more]

Babylonia

A Genus in the Kingdom Animalia. [more]

Bailya

[more]

Barbitonia

Bartschia

[more]

Bathybuccinum

[more]

Bathydomus

[more]

Belomitra

[more]

Beringion

[more]

Beringius

[more]

Brachysphingus

Buccinanops

[more]

Buccinopsis

Buccinulum

[more]

Buccinum

Buccinum is a genus of medium-sized sea with an operculum, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Buccinidae, the true whelks. [more]

Burnupena

[more]

Caducifer

[more]

Calicantharus

Cancellopollia

[more]

Cantharus

[more]

Chauvetia

[more]

Chlanidota

[more]

Chlanificula

Chrysodomus

Clea

A Genus in the Kingdom Animalia. [more]

Clinopegma

[more]

Clivipollia

Colubraria

[more]

Colus

[more]

Coluzea

[more]

Cominella

[more]

Cymatophos

Cyrtochetus

Ecmanis

[more]

Engina

[more]

Enginella

[more]

Engoniophos

[more]

Eobuccinella

[more]

Eosipho

[more]

Epidromus

[more]

Eucominia

Eugina

[more]

Euthria

[more]

Falsitromina

Fax

Fustifusus

[more]

Fusus

[more]

Glypteuthria

[more]

Hanetia

Helicofusus

[more]

Hirtomurex

[more]

Japelion

[more]

Japeuthria

[more]

Kanamarua

[more]

Kelletia

[more]

Lacinia

Levifusus

Liomesus

[more]

Lirabuccinum

[more]

Lussivolutopsius

[more]

Magilus

[more]

Metaphos

[more]

Meteuthria

Metula

A Genus in the Kingdom Animalia. [more]

Mohnia

[more]

Molopophorus

Monostiolum

[more]

Nassaria

[more]

Nassicola

Neoberingius

[more]

Neobuccinum

[more]

Neosconsia

Neoteron

Neptunea

[more]

Nicema

Northia

Northia is a genus of in family Sapotaceae. [more]

Notoficula

Odontobasis

Pareuthria

[more]

Penion

[more]

Perunassa

Phos

[more]

Pisania

[more]

Plicifusus

[more]

Pollia

Herbs perennial. Rhizomes horizontal, long. Stems erect or ascending, usually simple. Leaves alternate. Panicles terminal; cincinni with several flowers, proximal involucral bracts nearly leaflike, distal ones small; bracts enveloping inflorescence axis, membranous. Flowers actinomorphic. Sepals free, shallowly boat-shaped, often enlarging and persistent in fruit. Petals free, white, blue, purple, or greenish yellow, sometimes spotted, ovate-elliptic, ovate-orbicular, or obovate, sometimes clawed. Stamens 6, all fertile, equal or 3 smaller, or only anterior 3 fertile; filaments glabrous; anther locules oblong, longitudinally dehiscent; antherodes deltoid-lanceolate or sagittate. Ovary 3-loculed; ovules (1--) 5--10 per locule. Fruit baccate, globose, 3-valved, indehiscent. Seeds (1--) 5--8 per valve, purplish gray, polygonal, slightly flattened; hilum orbicular.[1] [more]

Pomahakia

Probuccinum

[more]

Prodotia

[more]

Proneptunea

[more]

Prosipho

[more]

Pseudocominella

Pseudofax

Pseudoliomesus

[more]

Pseudoneptunea

[more]

Ptychosalpinx

[more]

Ptychosyca

Pusiostoma

[more]

Pyrolofusus

[more]

Reticubuccinum

[more]

Retimohnia

[more]

Scalaspira

Searlesia

[more]

Searlsia

[more]

Serrifusus

Seymourosphaera

Sipho

[more]

Siphonalia

[more]

Siphonofusus

[more]

Siphonorbis

[more]

Solenosteira

[more]

Stantonella

Strepsidura

Sycostoma

Tacita

[more]

Terebrifusus

Tomlinia

[more]

Trajana

[more]

Tritiaria

Tritonidea

[more]

Tritonium

[more]

Tritonofusus

[more]

Triumphis

[more]

Troschelia

[more]

Truncaria

[more]

Turrisipho

[more]

Verconella

Volutharpa

[more]

Volutopsius

[more]

Xanthochorus

[more]

At least 4 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Xanthochorus.

More info about the Genus Xanthochorus may be found here.

References

  1. ^ K. Fraussen (2008). "Enigmaticolus, a new genus of deep water buccinids (Gastropoda: Buccinidae), with description of a new species from Madagascar". Gloria Maris 46 (4-5): 74-82. http://www.ofseaandshore.com/newspecies/newspecies2.php

Footnotes

  1. Deyuan Hong & Robert A. DeFilipps "Pollia". in Flora of China Vol. 24 Page 32. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.

Sources

Last Revised: April 26, 2010
2010/04/26 14:03:56