Malacology
Malacology is the study of mollusks. This includes animals like octopus, snails, slugs, and clams. It is the second largest phylum of animals, making them one of the most successful groups on the planet. There are over 80,000 described species of mollusks with many more left to be discovered. Mullusca is composed of 8 recognized classes including Cephalopoda, Gastropoda, Polyplacophora, Scaphapoda, Monoplacophorans, the Aplacophorans, Caudofoveata and Solenogastres, and Bivalvia.
Thick-lipped Drill
(Say, 1822)
Eupleura caudata
Class:
Gastropoda
Order:
Neogastropoda
Family:
Muricidae
Misc. Facts
These snails primarily feed on other mollusks. It secretes enzymes to soften the shells of their prey. They then drill through the softened shell using a special modified radula.
Citations
MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Eupleura caudata (Say, 1822). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=160314 on 2021-06-10
Morris, P. A. (1987). A field guide to shells: Atlantic and Gulf coasts and the West Indies (3rd ed.). Houghton Mifflin.
Rosenberg, G. 2009. Malacolog 4.1.1: A Database of Western Atlantic Marine Mollusca. [WWW database (version 4.1.1)] URL http://www.malacolog.org/