''Amoria'' is a taxonomic genus of medium-sized predatory marine

gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...

in the subfamily Amoriinae, belonging to the family

Volutidae Volutidae, common name volutes, are a taxonomic family of predatory sea snails that range in size from 9 mm to over 500 mm. They are marine gastropod mollusks. Most of the species have no operculum. Distribution This family of sea s ...

.Bouchet, P.; Bail, P. (2012). Amoria Gray, 1855. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=382343 on 2012-06-11

Distribution

''Amoria'' are found in onshore and offshore waters around the entire coast of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Several species extend into offshore waters of southern

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. The highest areas of diversity are in the intertidal and shallow subtidal waters of northern

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

followed by the subtidal waters around the

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Shell description

''Amoria'' have a small, smooth, more or less pointed conical

protoconch A protoconch (meaning first or earliest or original shell) is an embryonic or larval shell which occurs in some classes of molluscs, e.g., the initial chamber of an ammonite or the larval shell of a gastropod. In older texts it is also called " ...

, a solid very glossy, fusiform shell and an elongate

aperture In optics, the aperture of an optical system (including a system consisting of a single lens) is the hole or opening that primarily limits light propagated through the system. More specifically, the entrance pupil as the front side image o ...

with 4 distinct, more or less developed

columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (, Arabic: ) was a prominent Roman writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture and ancient Roman cuisin ...

r plicae. The sutures are slightly callous. The colour pattern of the genus ''Amoria'' is variable, the base colour is white, yellow or pink with varying degrees or brown axial lines forming a pattern over the base colour. Axial lines may be free or may reticulate to form a tented pattern.G.W. Tryon (1886), Manual of Conchology tome IV, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia The largest species ''Amoria hunteri'' reaches over 200 mm in length. The smallest species is probably ''Amoria dampieria'' frequently around 20 mm.

Biology

''Amoria'' are nocturnal and prey on other

gastropods Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and from the land. Ther ...

and on

bivalves Bivalvia () or bivalves, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of aquatic molluscs (marine and freshwater) that have laterally compressed soft bodies enclosed by a calcified exoskeleton consis ...

. They generally inhabit areas with well sorted coarse sand. Some ''Amoria'' species have been noted to bite people when they are handled. The bite is followed by a mild sting, but no long-term effects have been noted.

Fossil history

The first ''Amoria'' appear in the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

and Late

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

from

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. Judging from anatomical features, ''Amoria'' are close to the genus '' Cymbiola'' from which they descended in the

Tertiary Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to: * Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago * Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...

. '' Cymbiola'' are related to Tethyan species of the Late Miocene of

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

Taxonomy

''Amoria'' includes more than 70 species, synonyms included. The following species have been recognized: * '' Amoria austellus'' H. Morrison & B. Schneider, 2021 * '' Amoria benthalis'' McMichael, 1964 - Queensland, New South Wales * '' Amoria canaliculata'' McCoy, 1869 - Queensland * '' Amoria chaneyi'' Morrison, 2012 * † '' Amoria costellifera'' (Tate, 1889) * '' Amoria damonii'' Gray, 1864 - Western and Northern Australia * '' Amoria dampieria'' Weaver, 1960 - Dampier Archipelago * '' Amoria diamantina'' Wilson, 1972 - Western Australia * '' Amoria ellioti'' (G.B. Sowerby II, 1864) - Western Australia * '' Amoria exoptanda'' (Reeve, 1849) - Southern Australia * '' Amoria grayi'' Ludbrook, 1953 - Western Australia * '' Amoria guttata'' McMichael, 1964 - Queensland * '' Amoria hansenae'' Morrison, 2012 * '' Amoria hunteri'' (Iredale, 1931) - Eastern Australia * ''

Amoria jamrachii ''Amoria jamrachii'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family (biology), family Volutidae, the volutes. It was named after Charles Jamrach, an animal dealer in London, by Dr. John Edward Gray, Keeper of Zoology at ...

'' Gray, 1864 - Western Australia * '' Amoria jansae'' van Pel & Moolenbeek, 2010 * '' Amoria lineola'' Bail & Limpus, 2009 * '' Amoria macandrewi'' (G.B. Sowerby III, 1887) - Western Australia * '' Amoria maculata'' (Swainson, 1822) - Eastern Australia * '' Amoria marshallorum'' H. Morrison & B. Schneider, 2021 * † '' Amoria masoni'' (Tate, 1889) * '' Amoria mihali'' H. Morrison, 2018 * '' Amoria necopinata'' Darragh, 1983 - Queensland * '' Amoria peterstimpsoni'' Cossignani & Allary, 2019 * '' Amoria praetexta'' (Reeve, 1849) - Western Australia * '' Amoria rinkensi'' Poppe, 1986 - Northwestern Australia * '' Amoria ryosukei'' Habe, 1975 - Arafura, Timor Sea * '' Amoria simoneae'' Bail & Limpus, 2003 * '' Amoria spenceriana'' (Gatliff, 1908) - Ashmore Reef * '' Amoria stricklandi'' Bail & Limpus, 2016 * '' Amoria subfossilis'' Bail & Limpus, 2011 * '' Amoria thorae'' J. M. Healy, 2020 * '' Amoria turneri'' (Griffith & Pidgeon, 1834) - Western and Northern Australia * '' Amoria undulata'' (Lamarck, 1804) - Western, Southern and Eastern Australia * '' Amoria weldensis'' Bail & Limpus, 2001 - Western Australia * '' Amoria zebra'' (Leach, 1814) - Eastern Australia ;Species brought into synonymy: * ''Amoria grossi'' Iredale, 1927: synonym of '' Volutoconus grossi'' (Iredale, 1927) (original combination) * ''Amoria kawamurai'' Habe, 1975 - Arafura, Timor Sea: synonym of the subspecies ''Amoria grayi kawamurai'' Habe, 1975 * ''Amoria kingi'' Cox, 1871: synonym of ''Amoria undulata'' (Lamarck, 1804) * ''Amoria molleri'' (Iredale, 1936): synonym of '' Relegamoria molleri'' Iredale, 1936 (superseded combination) * ''Amoria newmanae'' Cotton, 1949: synonym of ''Amoria turneri'' (Gray in Griffith & Pidgeon, 1834) Many subspecific names have been created in the genus ''Amoria'' to distinguish colour variations in the shells of the species.

References

* N.H. Ludbrook (1953), Systematic Revision of the Volutidid Genus ''Amoria'', J. Mollus. Stud. 30 (4-5): 131-153. * Bail, P., Limpus, A. & Poppe, G. T. (2001): ''The Genus'' Amoria. In: Poppe, G. T. & Groh, K.: ''A Conchological Iconography''. 50 pp., 93 plts. ConchBooks, Hackenheim, . * Wilson, B. (1994): ''Australian marine shells 2''. Odyssey Publishing, Kallaroo, Western Australia, . *

External links

Biodiversity library: journals describing or mentioning ''Amoria''
* * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q4747668 Amoria Gastropod genera Taxa named by John Edward Gray