Olive shell

Olive Snail
Shells of Lettered olive, Oliva sayana
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Neogastropoda
Superfamily:	Olivoidea
Family:	Olividae Latreille, 1825
Genera
See text.

Olive shells, olive snails, or olives, scientific name Olividae, are a family of medium to large predatory sea snails with smooth, shiny, elongated oval-shaped shells. The shells often show various muted but attractive colors, and may be patterned also. They are marine gastropod molluscs in the family Olividae within the main clade Neogastropoda.

Also see the Olivellidae, the dwarf olives, which were previously grouped in this family, but which now have their own family.

Taxonomy

According to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi (2005) the family Olividae consists of three subfamilies:

• Olivinae Latreille, 1825 - synonyms: Dactylidae H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853 (inv.); Agaroniinae Olsson, 1956; Olivancillariidae Golikov & Starobogatov, 1975
• Ancillariinae Swainson, 1840 - synonym: Ancillinae H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853
• † Vanpalmeriinae Adegoke, 1977

Distribution

Olive snails are found worldwide, in subtropical and tropical seas and oceans.

Habitat

These snails are found on sandy substrates intertidally and subtidally.

Life habits

The olive snails are all carnivorous sand-burrowers. They feed mostly on bivalves and carrion and are known as some of the fastest burrowers among snails. They secrete a mucus similar to that of the Muricidae, from which a purple dye can be made.

Shell description

Physically the shells are oval and cylindrical in shape. They have a well-developed stepped spire. Olive shells have a siphonal notch at the posterior end of the long narrow aperture. The siphon of the living animal protrudes from the siphon notch.

The shell surface is extremely glossy because in life the mantle almost always covers the shell.^[1][2]

The fossil record

Olive shells first appeared during the Campanian.^[3]

Human use

Olive shells are popular with shell collectors, and are also often made into jewelry and other decorative items.

The shell of the lettered olive, Oliva sayana, is the state shell of South Carolina in the United States.

Genera

Genera within the family Olividae include:

• Agaronia
• Amalda
• Ancilla
• Ancillista
• Baryspira
• Oliva
• Olivancillaria

Lettered olive, Oliva sayana

See also

• Olivella This genus has now been moved to the Olivellidae according to the taxonomy of Bouchet & Rocroi.

References

1. ^ Washington State University Tri-Cities Natural History Museum (2001). Family: Olividae (Olive Shells). Retrieved on 12 July 2006.
2. ^ Vermeij, Geerat J (3 April 1995). A Natural History of Shells. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-00167-7. pps. 89, 100, 114.
3. ^ Vermeij, Geerat J (1 September 1993). Evolution and Escalation. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-00080-8. p.182.

Further reading

• Hunon Ch., Hoarau A. & Robin A. (2009). Olividae (Mollusca, Gastropoda).

External links