''Harpa davidis'',
common name
In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...
the Madras harp or David harp, is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
sea snail
Sea snails are slow-moving marine (ocean), marine gastropod Mollusca, molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the Taxonomic classification, taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguishe ...
, a 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 ...
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 ...
in the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Harpidae
The Harpidae, known as the harp snails, are the members of a taxonomic family of large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks.
This family is temporarily classified in the superfamily Neogastropoda incertae sedis. MolluscaBase eds. (2 ...
, the harp snails.
Distribution
This species is widespread over Indo-Pacific, from eastern Africa to Hawaii and it is present in the South Eastern India and in the Andaman Sea.
Habitat
The ''Madras harp'' lives on sublittoral and offshore sandy bottoms at depths of 5 to 250 m.[
]
Description
Shells of ''Harpa davidis'' can reach a size of .[ tp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/009/w7191e/w7191e53.pdf FAO – Horse conchs, spindle shells/ref> but may also be completely brown.
]
Bibliography
* Hughes, R.N. and W.K. Emerson. 1987. Anatomical and taxonomic characteristics of
* HarpaandMorum(Neogastropoda: Harpaidae). Veliger, 29(4):349–358.
* Rehder, H.A. 1973. The family Harpidae of the world. Indo-Pac. Moll., 3(16):207–274.
* Walls, J.G. 1977. Another viewpoint on the living harps. The Pariah, 4:1–4.
* Walls, J.G. 1980. Conchs, tibias, and harps. T.F.H., Reigate, 191
References
External links
*
davidis Davidis is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Alexander Davidis, German born television director, writer and producer
*Henriette Davidis
Johanna Friederika Henriette Katharina Davidis (1 March 1801 in Wengern – 3 April 1876 ...
Gastropods described in 1798
{{Harpidae-stub