''Conuber sordidum'' (originally described as ''Natica sordida'' by Swainson) is a species of predatory

sea snail Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the ...

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marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

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

mollusk family Naticidae, the moon snails.Swainson, W. (1820-1821) Zoological Illustrations, or original figures and descriptions of new, rare, or interesting animals, selected chiefly from the classes of ornithology, entomology, and conchology, and arranged on the principles of Cuvier and other modern zoologists. Vol. 2. LondonHuelsken, T., Tapken, D., Dahlmann, T., Wägele, H., Riginos, C., Hollmann, M. (2012). Systematics and phylogenetic species delimitation within Polinices s.l. (Caenogastropoda: Naticidae) based on molecular data and shell morphology. Organisms Diversity & Evolution. DOI: 10.1007/s13127-012-0111-5
ODE homepage
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Distribution

East coast of Australia, from Victoria to Queensland. The species also occurs off Tasmania and New Zealand.''Conuber sordidus'' o
Indo-Pacific Molluscan Database
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Life habits

Conuber sordidum is predatory, feeding mostly on

bivalve Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...

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s.Bishop, M. J., Cole, M. R., Taylor, S. L., Wilkie, E. M. & Kelaher, B. P. (2008) Size-specific predation by dominant consumers maintains a 'trophic cul-de-sac'. Marine Ecology Progress Series 354, 75-83. The species is also known to prey on the soldier crab ''

Mictyris longicarpus ''Mictyris longicarpus'', the light-blue soldier crab, is a species of crab that lives on sandy beaches from the Bay of Bengal to Australia; with other members of the genus '' Mictyris'', it is "one of the most loved crabs in Australia". Adu ...

'' by drilling predation.Huelsken, T. (2011) First evidence of drilling predation by Conuber sordidus (Swainson, 1821) (Gastropoda: Naticidae) on soldier crabs (Crustacea: Mictyridae). Molluscan Research, 31(2), 125-131

/ref> To catch soldier crabs, ''C. sordidum'' uses the same stereotyped behaviour as previously described for moon snails hunting shelled molluscan prey.

Habitat

On intertidal muddy sand flats near mangroves or sea weed.

References

* Torigoe K. & Inaba A. (2011). Revision on the classification of Recent Naticidae. Bulletin of the Nishinomiya Shell Museum. 7: 133 + 15 pp., 4 pls

External links

Quoy J.R.C. & Gaimard J.P. (1832-1835). Voyage de découvertes de l'"Astrolabe" exécuté par ordre du Roi, pendant les années 1826-1829, sous le commandement de M. J. Dumont d'Urville. Zoologie.

Video of ''Conuber sordidus'' hunting ''Mictyris longicarpus''
on YouTube * Naticidae Gastropods described in 1821 {{Naticidae-stub