''Clea'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

freshwater snail Freshwater snails are gastropod mollusks that live in fresh water. There are many different families. They are found throughout the world in various habitats, ranging from ephemeral pools to the largest lakes, and from small seeps and springs t ...

s with opercula, aquatic

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 ...

mollusk Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...

s in the subfamily Anentominae of the family

Nassariidae The Nassariidae, Nassa mud snails (US), or dog whelks (UK) are a taxonomic family of small to medium-sized snails, mostly marine gastropod mollusks in the clade Neogastropoda. These snails have rounded shells with a high spire, an oval ap ...

, a family, almost all of the rest of which are marine.

Name

The members of this genus are known as assassin snails for their habit of eating other snails. They bury themselves and ambush their prey.

Taxonomy

This genus was originally described within the family Buccinidae. It was moved to family

in 2016.Galindo, L. A., Puillandre, N., Utge, J., Lozouet, P., & Bouchet, P. (2016). "The phylogeny and systematics of the Nassariidae revisited (Gastropoda, Buccinoidea)". ''

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of evolutionary biology and phylogenetics. The journal is edited by E.A. Zimmer. Indexing The journal is indexed in: * EMBiology *Journal Citation Reports *Scopus ...

'' 99: 337-353. It was classified in the newly established subfamily Anentominae within Nassariidae in 2017.Strong, E. E., Galindo, L. A., & Kantor, Y. I. (2017). "Quid est ''Clea helena''? Evidence for a previously unrecognized radiation of assassin snails (Gastropoda: Buccinoidea: Nassariidae)". ''PeerJ'' 5: e3638. .

Species

Species within the genus ''Clea'' include:Bouchet, P. (2017). ''Clea'' H. Adams & A. Adams, 1855. In: MolluscaBase (2017). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=490505 on 2017-11-21 * '' Clea bangueyensis''

Smith Smith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England ** List of people ...

, 1895 * '' Clea bockii'' Brot, 1881 * '' Clea funesta'' H. Adams, 1862 * '' Clea hidalgoi'' ( Crosse, 1886) * '' Clea nigricans'' A. Adams, 1855 - type species of the genus ''Clea'' The following species are treated within the separate genus ''

Anentome ''Anentome'' is a genus of freshwater snails with Operculum (gastropod), opercula, Aquatic animal, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Anentominae of the family Nassariidae, a family, almost all of the rest of which are Marine (ocean), ma ...

''. Previously they were treated within the subgenus ''Anentome''. * ''Clea bizonata'' (Deshayes, 1876) - synonym of '' Anentome bizonata'' (Deshayes, 1876) * '' Clea broti'' Deshayes, 1876 * ''Clea cambojiensis'' (Reeve, 1861) - synonym of '' Anentome cambojiensis'' (Reeve, 1861) * ''Clea costulata'' (Schepman, 1885) - synonym of ''

Anentome costulata ''Anentome'' is a genus of freshwater snails with Operculum (gastropod), opercula, Aquatic animal, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Anentominae of the family Nassariidae, a family, almost all of the rest of which are Marine (ocean), ma ...

'' (Schepman, 1885) * ''Clea fusca'' (H. Adams, 1862) - synonym of '' Anentome fusca'' (H. Adams, 1862) * ''Clea helena'' (von dem Busch, 1847) - synonym of '' Anentome helena'' (von dem Busch, 1847) * ''Clea jullieni'' ( Deshayes in Deshayes & Jullien, 1876) - synonym of '' Anentome jullieni'' (Deshayes, 1876) * ''Clea paviei'' Morlet, 1866 - synonym of '' Anentome paviei'' (Morlet, 1866) * ''Clea scalarina'' (Deshayes in Deshayes & Jullien, 1876) - synonym of '' Anentome scalarina'' (Deshayes, 1876) * ''Clea spinosa'' Temcharoen, 1971 - synonym of '' Anentome spinosa'' (Temcharoen, 1971) * ''Clea wykoffi'' Brandt, 1974- synonym of '' Anentome wykoffi'' (Brandt, 1974) Synonyms: * ''Clea annesleyi'' Benson, 1861 is a synonym of '' Nassodonta annesleyi'' (Benson, 1861)

Distribution

This genus occurs in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Reproduction

''Clea'' consists of defined male and female genders and is not capable of gender change. It is unknown as to how to sex these animals. Both males and females seem to be the same size and shape. When a male and female mate, they lock together for 8–12 hours.

Feeding habits

Like all snails in the clade Neogastropoda, snails in this genus are carnivorous. They feed on different types of

worm Worms are many different distantly related bilateria, bilateral animals that typically have a long cylindrical tube-like body, no limb (anatomy), limbs, and usually no eyes. Worms vary in size from microscopic to over in length for marine ...

s and gastropods, often eating other, larger snails after burying themselves and ambushing their prey.

Human use

Some members of this genus is a part of ornamental pet trade for freshwater aquaria.Ng, T. H., Tan, S. K., Wong, W. H., Meier, R., Chan, S. Y., Tan, H. H., & Yeo, D. C. (2016). "Molluscs for sale: assessment of freshwater gastropods and bivalves in the ornamental pet trade". ''PLoS ONE'' 11(8): e0161130.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clea (Gastropod) Nassariidae