Overview
Bursidae, common name "frog snails" or "frog shells" is a rather small taxonomic family of large sea snails, marine gastropod predatory snails in the clade Littorinimorpha.
Most species in this family occur on rocks or coral reefs in shallow waters of tropical oceans, including the Indo-Pacific, the Caribbean Sea and other marginal warm seas. But they are also found in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Only a few are found on sandy bottoms of deeper waters of the continental shelf.
Shell description
The thick, ovate to slightly elongate shells are coarsely sculptured, resembling the triton shells of the Ranellidae. The intersection of the spiral ribs and the axial sculpture results in a strong nodulose pattern of more or less round knobs. This warty surface gave them their common name - frog shells. The outer varicose lip is dila ted and shows a number of labial plicae, resulting in a toothed lip on the inside. The inner lip is calloused, showing transverse plicae.
The anterior and posterior canals are well developed. The siphonal canal at the anterior end is usually short. The anal canal at the posterior end is a deep slot. The strong axial varices are often in two continuous series per whorl, one down each side of the shell. The nucleus of the corneous operculum is situated either at the anterior end or the mid-inner margin. A periostracum (hairy covering of the outer shell) is usually absent or thin.
Anatomy
The taenioglossate radula has seven teeth in each row: one central tooth, flanked on each side by one lateral and two marginal teeth. The central tooth is saddle-shaped, with long basal limbs, each bearing a cusp-like spur upon its face.
Their eyes are based at the base of their filiform tentacles. The foot is short and thick.
Fertilization is internal. The female snail lays her eggs enclosed in a jelly-like matrix that she somet imes broods with her foot. After hatching, the eggs become free-swimming larvae.
Feeding habits
Frog shells are active predators, and appear to feed on bristle worms (Polychaeta) that they anaesthetize with acidic saliva through their extensible, distally flattened proboscis.
Genera
genera in the family Bursidae include[1][2][3]:
- Genus Bufonaria Schumacher, 1817
- Bufonaria bufo Bruguiere, 1792 - chestnut frogsnail
- Bufonaria borisbeckeri Parth, 1996 - named after Boris Becker
- Genus Bursa Roding, 1798
- Genus Bursina Oyama 196 4 - assigned to Bursidae by Beu in 2005[4]
- Genus Crossata Jousseaume, 1881
- Crossata californica Hinds, 1843 - California frogsnail
- Genus Marsupina Dall, 1904
- ? Genus Ranellina - assigned to Bursidae by Palmer and Brann in 1966[5]
- Genus Tutufa Jousseaume, 1881
Feeding habits
Frog shells are active predators, and appear to feed on bristle worms (Polychaeta) that they anaesthetize with acidic saliva through their extensible, distally flattened proboscis.
Genera
genera in the family Bursidae include[1][2][3]:
- Genus Bufonaria Schumacher, 1817
- Bufonaria bufo Bruguiere, 1792 - chestnut frogsnail
- Bufonaria borisbeckeri Parth, 1996 - named after Boris Becker
- Genus Bursa Roding, 1798
- Genus Bursina Oyama 1964 - assigned to Bursidae by Beu in 2005[4]
- Genus Crossata Jousseaume, 1881
- Crossata californica Hinds, 1843 - California frogsnail
- Genus Marsupina Dall, 1904
- ? Genus Ranellina - assigned to Bursidae by Palmer and Brann in 1966[5]
- Genus Tutufa Jousseaume, 1881
References
- ^ "Bursidae". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=73106.
- ^ Powell A. W. B. (1979) New Zealand Mollusca. William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand. ISBN 0-00-216906-1
- ^ Cossignani, Tiziano (1994). Bursidae of the World. Ancona, Italy: L'Informatore Piceno. pp. 119. ISBN 8886070098.
- ^ Beu A.G. (2005). "Neogene fossil tonnoidean gastropods of Indonesia". Scripta Geologica 130: 1?186. http://paleodb.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?action=displayReference&reference_no=26332.
- ^ Palmer K. V. & Brann D. C. (1966). "Catalogue of the Paleocene and Eocene Mollusks of the Southern and Eastern United States Part II. Gastropoda". Bulletins of American Paleontology 218: 471?1057. http://paleodb.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?action=displayReference&reference_no=11846.
External links
Taxonomy
The Family Bursidae is a member of the Superfamily Tonnoidea. Here is the complete "parentage" of Bursidae:
- Domain: Eukaryota
Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
- Kingdom: Animalia
C. Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
- Subkingdom: Bilateria
(Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983 - bilaterians
- Branch: Protostomia
Grobben, 1908 - protostomes
- Infrakingdom: Lophotrochozoa
- Lophotrochozoans
- Superphylum: Eutrochozoa
- Phylum: Mollusca
(C. Linnaeus, 1758) Cuvier, 1795 - Molluscs
- Class: Gastropoda
Cuvier, 1795 - Snails and Slugs
- Subclass: Orthogastropoda
Ponder & Lindberg, 1996
- Superorder: Caenogastropoda
Cox, 1960
- Order: Sorbeoconcha
Ponder & Lindberg, 1997
- Suborder: Hypsogastropoda
Ponder & Lindberg, 1997
- Infraorder: Littorinimorpha Golikov & Starobogatov, 1975
- Suborder: Hypsogastropoda
Ponder & Lindberg, 1997
- Order: Sorbeoconcha
Ponder & Lindberg, 1997
- Superorder: Caenogastropoda
Cox, 1960
- Subclass: Orthogastropoda
Ponder & Lindberg, 1996
- Class: Gastropoda
Cuvier, 1795 - Snails and Slugs
- Phylum: Mollusca
(C. Linnaeus, 1758) Cuvier, 1795 - Molluscs
- Superphylum: Eutrochozoa
- Infrakingdom: Lophotrochozoa
- Lophotrochozoans
- Branch: Protostomia
Grobben, 1908 - protostomes
- Subkingdom: Bilateria
(Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983 - bilaterians
- Kingdom: Animalia
C. Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
The Family Bursidae is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Genus (9): Bufonaria · Bursa · Colubellina · Crossata · Olequahia · Ranellina · Trawled · Tritonoranella · Tutufa
- Species: ZipcodeZoo has pages for 150 species and subspecies in the Family Bursidae.
Genera
Bufonaria
Bursa
a purse from the Latin and so used for any enclosed sac. [more]
Colubellina
Crossata
Olequahia
Ranellina
Trawled
Tritonoranella
Tutufa
At least 12 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Tutufa.
More info about the Genus Tutufa may be found here.
References
- ^ "Bursidae". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=73106.
- ^ Powell A. W. B. (1979) New Zealand Mollusca. William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand. ISBN 0-00-216906-1
- ^ Cossignani, Tiziano (1994). Bursidae of the World. Ancona, Italy: L'Informatore Piceno. pp. 119. ISBN 8886070098.
- ^ Beu A.G. (2005). "Neogene fossil tonnoidean gastropods of Indonesia". Scripta Geologica 130: 1?186. http://paleodb.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?action=displayReference&reference_no=26332.
- ^ Palmer K. V. & Brann D. C. (1966). "Catalogue of the Paleocene and Eocene Mollusks of the Southern and Eastern United States Part II. Gastropoda". Bulletins of American Paleontology 218: 471?1057. http://paleodb.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?action=displayReference&reference_no=11846.
Sources
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