''Cancellaria cooperii'', common name Cooper's nutmeg, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

of medium-sized to large sea snail, a marine gastropod

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is es ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Cancellariidae Cancellariidae, common name the nutmeg snails or nutmeg shells, are a family of small to medium-large sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the clade Neogastropoda. Some of the shells of the species in this family resemble a nutmeg seed. ...

, the nutmeg snails.

Description

Ecology

Life habits

This species is an ectoparasite that parasitizes the

Pacific electric ray ''Tetronarce californica'' also known as the Pacific electric ray is a species of electric ray in the family Torpedinidae, endemic to the coastal waters of the northeastern Pacific Ocean from Baja California to British Columbia. It generally inh ...

, ''

Torpedo californica ''Tetronarce californica'' also known as the Pacific electric ray is a species of electric ray in the family Torpedinidae, endemic to the coastal waters of the northeastern Pacific Ocean from Baja California to British Columbia. It generally in ...

'', and perhaps other

benthic fish Demersal fish, also known as groundfish, live and feed on or near the bottom of seas or lakes (the demersal zone).Walrond Carl . "Coastal fish - Fish of the open sea floor"Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated 2 March 2009 They occ ...

es.J. B. O'Sullivan, R. R. McConnaughey, and M. E. Huber, ''A Blood-Sucking Snail: The Cooper's Nutmeg, Cancellaria cooperii Gabb, Parasitizes the California Electric Ray, Torpedo californica Ayres'' (1987), Biol. Bull. 172: 362–366 Cooper's nutmeg is uncommonly found, offshore, on sandy

substrate Substrate may refer to: Physical layers *Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the surface or medium on which an organism grows or is attached ** Substrate (locomotion), the surface over which an organism lo ...

Distribution

This nutmeg snail occurs in the Eastern Pacific Ocean from

Monterey, California Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...

, to San Benito Island, in central

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

, Mexico.

References

Link to Biol. Bull. article

External links

* McLean, James H., 1978, ''Marine Shells of Southern California'', Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Museum, Science Series 24, Revised Edition, p 51. Cancellariidae Parasitic protostomes Animal parasites of fish Gastropods described in 1865 Hematophages {{cancellariidae-stub