Tonna galea

Tonna galea
Live Tonna galea held by hand showing shell and foot
Various views of Tonna galea shell
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Littorinimorpha
Superfamily:	Tonnoidea
Family:	Tonnidae
Genus:	Tonna
Species:	T. galea
Binomial name
Tonna galea (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Buccinum olearium Linnaeus, 1758 Tonna olearium (Linnaeus, 1758)

Tonna galea is a very large species of sea snail or tun snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tonnidae, the tun shells.^[1]

Distribution

New Zealand^[2]

Description

The maximum recorded shell length is 190 mm.^[3]

The snail's saliva contains 2-4 % sulfuric acid, by means of which it kills its prey, sea stars.^[4]

X-ray image of the shell of Tonna galea.

17th century engraving of Tonna galea by Wenceslas Hollar.

Habitat

Minimum recorded depth is 0 m.^[3] Maximum recorded depth is 2359 m.^[3]

References

1. ^ Gofas, S. (2010). Tonna galea (Linnaeus, 1758). In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=141687 on 2011-02-18
2. ^ Powell A. W. B., William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1.
3. ^ ^{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.
4. ^ Alyakrinskaya I. O. (2002). "Morphofunctional Properties of Nutrition of Certain Predatory Gastropods". Biology Bulletin 29(6). ISSN 1062-3590.

External links