Cerithideopsis californica

The distribution of Cerithideopsis californica is from central California, USA to Baja California Sur, Mexico.[3]

The type locality is "California, in brackish water".[1]

ssp. albonodosa

The shell is turriform in shape and about 1 inch (25 mm) in length.[1]

Cerithideopsis californica lives in salt-marsh dominated estuaries.[3]

The snails primarily feed on benthic diatoms.[3]

Throughout its range in California, these snails grow and reproduce from spring through fall (March–October) and cease growth and reproduction during the winter (November–February).[3] Maximum longevity for these snails is at least 6–10 years, and this appears to be the case for uninfected as well as infected snails.[3]

At least 18 trematode species parasitically castrate California horn snails.[3] A trematode infects a snail with a miracidium larva that either swims to infect the snail, or hatches after the snail ingests the trematode egg.[3] After infection, the trematode parthenitae clonally replicate and produce free-swimming offspring (cercariae).[3] These offspring infect second intermediate hosts (various invertebrates and fishes) where they form cysts (metacercariae).[3] The trematodes infect bird final hosts when birds eat second intermediate hosts.[3]

California horn snails are common in the Morro Bay estuary of California

This article incorporates CC-BY-2.0 text from the reference[3]

• Reid, D. G. & Claremont, M. (2014). "The genus Cerithideopsis Thiele, 1929 (Gastropoda: Potamididae) in the Indo-West Pacific region". Zootaxa. 3779 (1): 61–80. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3779.1.8.

• Driscoll A. L. (1972). "Structure and function of the alimentary tract of Batillaria zonalis and Cerithidea californica: style-bearing mesogastropods". Veliger 14: 375-386.
• Lafferty K. D. (1993). "Effects of parasitic castration on growth, reproduction and population dynamics of the marine snail Cerithidea californica". Marine Ecology Progress Series 96: 229-237. doi:10.3354/meps096229.
• Lafferty K. D. (1993). "The marine snail, Cerithidea californica, matures at smaller sizes where parasitism is high". Oikos 68(1): 3-11. JSTOR.
• Martin W. E. (1972). "An annotated key to the cercariae that develop in the snail Cerithidea californica". Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 71: 39-43.
• McCloy M. J. (1979). "Population regulation in the deposit feeding mesogastropod Cerithidea californica as it occurs in a San Diego salt marsh habitat". MS. University of California, San Diego.
• Race M. S. (1981). "Field ecology and natural history of Cerithidea californica (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia) in San Francisco Bay". Veliger 24: 18-27.
• Sousa W. P. (1983). "Host life history and the effect of parasitic castration on growth a field study of Cerithidea californica (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia) and its trematode parasites". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 73(3): 273-296. doi:10.1016/0022-0981(83)90051-5.
• Sousa W. P. (1993). "Size-dependent predation on the salt-marsh snail Cerithidea californica Haldeman". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology & Ecology 166: 19-37.
• Sousa W. P & Gleason M. (1989). "Does parasitic infection compromise host survival under extreme environmental conditions: the case for Cerithidea californica (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia)". Oecologia, Berlin 80: 456-464. doi:10.1007/BF00380066.