''Tonna cumingi'', common name Cuming's tun, 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 very large

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 tun snail, 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Tonnidae The Tonnidae are a family (biology), family of medium-sized to very large sea snails, known as the tun shells. These are marine invertebrates, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Littorinimorpha. The name ''tun'' refers to the snails' shell sh ...

, the tuns.Vos, C.; Marshall, B. (2015). Tonna cumingii. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=410210 on 2016-01-15

Taxonomy

The species currently referred to as ''Tonna cumingii'' (Hanley in Reeve, 1849) was referred to as: * ''Tonna canaliculata'' (Linnaeus, 1758) by Thach (2005:91, pl. 23, fig. 5) * ''Tonna cumingii'' 'Reeve' by (a. o.) Hedley (1919:331); Winckworth & Tomlin (1933:209); Hinton (1977:26); Powell (1979:161); Kilburn (1986:4); Thach (2005:91) The species currently referred to as '' Tonna chinensis'' (Dillwyn, 1817) was referred to as ''Tonna cumingii'' (Hanley in Reeve, 1849) by Springsteen & Leobrera (1986:100, pl. 26, fig. 2) The species currently referred to as '' Tonna poppei'' Vos, 2005 was illustrated by Cernohorsky (1972:111); Hinton (1974:19, fig. 7; 1977:26 fig. 7a) and referred to as ''Tonna cumingii'' 'Reeve' The species currently referred to as ''

Tonna deshayesii ''Tonna deshayesii'' is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Tonnidae The Tonnidae are a family (biology), family of medium-sized to very large sea snails, known as the tun shells. These are marine invertebra ...

'' (Reeve, 1849) was referred to as ''Tonna cumingii'' 'Reeve' by (a. o.) Powell (1979:61); Cernohorsky (1972:112) Additional information on Cernohorsky (1972:111-112): Whilst showing specimens of ''Tonna poppei'' Vos, 2005 on pl. 30, figs 5, Cernohorsky lists this species as ''Tonna cumingii'' (Reeve, 1849), with in synonymy: "Synonyms of T. cumingii are deshayesii Reeve, 1849, perselecta Iredale, 1931, and maoria Powell, 1938. ''Tonna magnifica'' (Sowerby III 1904) belongs either to ''T. cumingii'' or ''T. chinensis'' " (fide Cernohorsy, 1972:112)

Distribution

This species is found often off the southern coasts of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. Populations of animals with similar-looking shells from

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Powell A. W. B., William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland 1979 and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n waters have been assimilated into this species. Occasional records indicate a possible presence of the species in

Philippine The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

waters. Further study on this species should reveal its exact distribution. (Reference: Vos, 2007, A Conchological Iconography - Family Tonnidae)

Shell description

The shell height is up to 91 mm, and width up to 66 mm.

References

* Chris Vos and Alan Beu, 2007, A Conchological Iconography 13: The Family Tonnidae, ConchBooks,

External links

Gastropods.com: ''Tonna (Chinensis complex) cumingii''
Tonnidae Gastropods of New Zealand Gastropods described in 1849 {{Tonnidae-stub