Nucella squamosa

Nucella squamosa, common name the scaly dogwhelk, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.[1]

Nucella squamosa
Five views of a shell of Nucella squamosa (Lamarck, 1816)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Neogastropoda
Superfamily:
Muricoidea
Family:
Muricidae
Subfamily:
Ocenebrinae
Genus:
Nucella
Species:
N. squamosa
Binomial name
Nucella squamosa
(Lamarck, 1816)
Synonyms[1]

Purpura clathrata Blainville, 1832
Purpura clathrata Kuster, 1859
Purpura ovalis Blainville, 1832
Purpura squamosa Lamarck, 1816
Purpura squamulosa Gray, 1839
Thais sculpturata Turton, 1932
Thais subglobosa Turton, 1932

Description
hydroid overgrowth on the shell

The scaly dogwhelk is a small brown whelk with many fine knobbly spiral ridges on its shell. It grows up to 5 cm in total length. The ridges of the snail's shell are not often visible because the whelk is usually overgrown by the high-spined commensal hydroid, Hydtractinia altispina, which looks prickly and is orange.[2]

Distribution

This marine snail is found off the southern African coast from central Namibia to Port St Johns, subtidally to 50m under water.[2]

Ecology

The eggs are laid in small groups of capsules which resemble stalked clubs. The commensal hydroid deters several of the snail's predators.[2]

References
  1. Nucella squamosa (Lamarck, 1816). Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 24 April 2010.
  2. Branch, G.M., Branch, M.L, Griffiths, C.L. and Beckley, L.E. 2010. Two Oceans: a guide to the marine life of southern Africa. ISBN 978-1-77007-772-0.
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