Olivellinae, are a

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

of small

predatory Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...

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 ...

s with smooth, shiny, elongated oval-shaped shells, 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 ...

Olividae. The shells sometimes show muted but attractive colors, and may have some patterning.MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Olivellinae Troschel, 1869. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=225405 on 2020-03-18 These animals are 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 ...

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

s in the superfamily

Olivoidea Olivoidea is a taxonomic superfamily of minute to medium-large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the order Neogastropoda.MolluscaBase (2018). Olivoidea Latreille, 1825. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: htt ...

, within the order

Neogastropoda Neogastropoda is an order of aquatic 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 ...

according to the taxonomy of Bouchet and Rocroi.

Distribution

''Olivella'' snails are found worldwide, but mostly

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

in subtropical and

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

seas and oceans.

Habitat and habit

These snails are found 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 (aquatic environment), the earthy material that exi ...

s intertidally and subtidally. These snails are all

carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose nutrition and energy requirements are met by consumption of animal tissues (mainly mu ...

sand-burrowers.

Shell description

The shells are basically oval and

cylindrical A cylinder () has traditionally been a Solid geometry, three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a Prism (geometry), prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may ...

in shape. They have a well-developed stepped

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...

. ''Olivella'' shells have a siphonal notch at the posterior end of the long narrow

aperture In optics, the aperture of an optical system (including a system consisting of a single lens) is the hole or opening that primarily limits light propagated through the system. More specifically, the entrance pupil as the front side image o ...

. The

siphon A siphon (; also spelled syphon) is any of a wide variety of devices that involve the flow of liquids through tubes. In a narrower sense, the word refers particularly to a tube in an inverted "U" shape, which causes a liquid to flow upward, abo ...

of the living animal protrudes from the siphon notch. The shell surface is extremely glossy because in life the mantle almost always covers the shell.

The fossil record

Olive shells first appeared during the

Campanian The Campanian is the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous epoch on the geologic timescale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). In chronostratigraphy, it is the fifth of six stages in the Upper Cretaceous Series. Campa ...

.Vermeij, Geerat J (1 September 1993). ''Evolution and Escalation''. Princeton University Press. . p.182.

Genera

* ''

Callianax ''Callianax'' is a genus of small predatory sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the subfamily Olivellinae of the family Olividae, the olives. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Callianax H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853. Accessed through: W ...

'' H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853 * ''

Cupidoliva ''Cupidoliva'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks 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 re ...

'' Iredale, 1924 * ''

Olivella Olivella () is a municipality in Catalonia, in the province of Barcelona, Spain. It is situated in the comarca of Garraf. History The first known village in the area was founded in 992 around a castle known as ''Castell vell''. The inhabitant ...

'' Swainson, 1831 ;Genera brought into synonymy: * ''Dactylidia'' H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853: synonym of ''Olivella'' Swainson, 1831 * ''Olivina'' d'Orbigny, 1841: synonym of ''Olivella'' Swainson, 1831 Image:Olivella biplicata.jpg, ''

Olivella biplicata ''Callianax biplicata'', common names the purple dwarf olive, purple olive shell, or purple olivella is a species of small predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Olividae, the olives.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBas ...

'' Image:Olivella biplicata 2.jpg, ''

References

External links

Kantor Yu.I., Fedosov A.E., Puillandre N., Bonillo C. & Bouchet P. (2017). Returning to the roots: morphology, molecular phylogeny and classification of the Olivoidea (Gastropoda: Neogastropoda). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 180(3): 493-541
{{Taxonbar, from2=Q244268, from1=Q33146920 *