Monoplex nicobaricus

Monoplex nicobaricus
In Hawaii, a group of three Monoplex nicobaricus (probably a mating pair and another male) have attracted a predatory Conus pennaeus, which is attacking the largest Monoplex
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Littorinimorpha
Superfamily:	Tonnoidea
Family:	Ranellidae
Subfamily:	Cymatiinae
Genus:	Monoplex
Species:	M. nicobaricus
Binomial name
Monoplex nicobaricus (Röding, 1798)
Synonyms[1]
Cymatium nicobaricum (Röding, 1798) Lampusia nicobarica (Röding, 1798) Triton chlorostomum Lamarck, 1822 Triton chlorostomum var. pumilio Mörch, 1877 Triton pulchellus C. B. Adams, 1850 Tritonium adansonii Dunker, R.W., 1853 Tritonium lotorium Link, H.F., 1807 Tritonium nicobarius Röding, 1798 (basionym)

Monoplex nicobaricus, common name Nicobar hairy triton, is a species of medium-sized predatory sea snail, a tropical marine gastropod mollusc in the family Ranellidae, the tritons.

Distribution

This species of marine snail has a wide distribution and lives in the Indo-Pacific and Western Atlantic oceans. Regions where Monoplex nicobaricus is found include Aldabra, Brazil, Canaries, Cape Verde, Chagos, European waters, Florida, Gulf of Mexico, Mascarene Basin and West Indies.^[1]

Description

The shell size varies between 20 mm and 103 mm.^{[citation needed]}

The maximum recorded shell length is 90 mm.^[2]

Habitat

Minimum recorded depth is 0 m.^[2] Maximum recorded depth is 36 m.^[2]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Monoplex nicobaricus (Roding, 1798). 8 November 2010. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=476529.
2. ^ ^{a b c} 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.

Further reading

• Abbott R. T. (1974). American Seashells, second edition. Van Nostrand Rheinhold, New York, ISBN 0-442-20228-8.

External links

• Gastropods.com : Cymatium (Monoplex) nicobaricum; accessed : 8 November 2010
• Image of live individual in Hawaii