''Clea'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

freshwater snail Freshwater snails are gastropod mollusks which 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 ...

s with opercula, aquatic 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 ...

s in the subfamily Anentominae of the family

Nassariidae The Nassariidae, Nassa mud snails (USA), or dog whelks (UK), are a taxonomic family of small to medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the clade Neogastropoda. "Dog whelk" also refers to '' Nucella lapillus''. Shell descripti ...

, 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 treated within family

Buccinidae The Buccinidae are a very large and diverse taxonomic family of large sea snails, often known as whelks or true whelks.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2010). Buccinidae. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca database. A ...

. 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 * 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, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people w ...

, 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''. 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'' (Schepman, 1885) * '' Clea fusca'' (H. Adams, 1862) - synonym of '' Anentome fusca'' (H. Adams, 1862) * '' Clea helena'' (von dem Busch, 1847) - synonym: ''Clea bocourti'' (Brot, 1876) - synonym of '' Anentome helena'' (von dem Busch, 1847) * '' Clea jullieni'' (

Deshayes Deshayes is a surname of French origin. * André-Jean-Jacques Deshayes (1777–1846), French ballet dancer and choreographer * Arnouph Deshayes de Cambronne (1768–1846), French governor * Catherine Deshayes, widow Monvoisin, known as " La Voisin" ...

in Deshayes & Jullien, 1876) - synonym of '' Anentome jullieni'' (Deshayes, 1876) * ''

Clea paviei ''Clea paviei'' is a Southeast Asian species of freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Buccinidae, the true whelks, most of which are marine. Distribution This species occurs in the Mekong River in t ...

'' 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 ''Nassodonta annesleyi'' is a species of brackish water snail, with gills and an operculum (gastropod), operculum, a gastropod mollusk in the family Nassariidae. The specific name ''annesleyi'' is in honour of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Annesle ...

'' Benson, 1861 is a synonym of ''

Nassodonta annesleyi ''Nassodonta annesleyi'' is a species of brackish water snail, with gills and an operculum, a gastropod mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as moll ...

'' (Benson, 1861)

Distribution

This genus occurs in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

and

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

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 Neogastropoda is an order of sea snails, both freshwater and marine gastropod molluscs. Description The available fossil record of Neogastropoda is relatively complete, and supports a widely accepted evolutionary scenario of an Early Cre ...

, snails in this genus are carnivorous. They feed on different types of

worm Worms are many different distantly related bilateral animals that typically have a long cylindrical tube-like body, no limbs, and no eyes (though not always). Worms vary in size from microscopic to over in length for marine polychaete worm ...

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 Wildlife trade refers to the of products that are derived from non-domesticated animals or plants usually extracted from their natural environment or raised under controlled conditions. It can involve the trade of living or dead individuals, ti ...

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

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clea (Gastropod) Nassariidae