Charonia lampas

Housing of Charonia lampas

The node supporting Triton snail or the node -bearing conch ( Charonia lampas ) is a snail from the family of Triton snails ( genus Charonia ), which feeds on echinoderms. She lives in the Atlantic and Mediterranean and is one of the greatest living today snails.

Features

The cone-shaped shell of Charonia lampas that in adult snails about 33 cm, sometimes 40 cm, reaches only 20 cm in length in island locations, has a moderately high, pointy thread whose 8-9 convex whorls with spiral running belts and usually with rows of nodes are provided. The body handling is wide and occupies about two thirds of the total height. The housing top is except in very young animals usually worn. The large egg-shaped opening has a distinct aperture rim. The outer lip is flame and at the edge thickened with internal teeth. The wrinkled down spindle has 2 to 3 protruding folds, the raised edge can reach over the Siphonalkanal. The surface of the house is white and maroon gewölkt or jagged decurrent flamed with spirally -extending bands bright spots at the nodes and dark brown in between, beside with medium brown bands. The aperture rim is white with dark brown teeth on the outer lip and brownish to reddish coloration on the edge of the wrinkle of the spindle.

The animal is brownish red or bright orange with thick darker spots. The sensors have two black striping.

The operculum of the nodes transferor Triton snail is narrow ovate and has on its underside is a smooth shiny brown bead.

Dissemination

The node supporting Triton screw enters the eastern Atlantic from the Channel to Morocco and isolated against Angola, the Canary Islands, Madeira and the Azores, in the western Atlantic to the coast of Brazil, at some seamounts and in the western part of the Mediterranean. There are also isolated populations, possibly subspecies, the Pacific Ocean to Australia, Taiwan and Japan. In the eastern Mediterranean and parts of the Atlantic delivers the Atlantic Triton snail ( Charonia variegata ) in their place.

Habitat

Charonia lampas lives below the intertidal zone to depths of 8 to 50 meters, even on coral reefs and seamounts.

Life cycle

Like other node -bearing Triton Triton snails are dioecious snails. The veliger larvae make up for the metamorphosis to the finished worm several months pelagic phase by zooplankton.

Nutrition

The nocturnal Charonia lampas feed on echinoderms, especially starfish. With the acidic saliva of the screw, the prey is paralyzed and softened their calcareous skeleton.

Endangering

Because of the impressive housing the nodes supporting Triton snail is collected, so that man can be regarded as a major enemy. The populations in the Mediterranean are protected under the Federal Species Protection Ordinance (Appendix 1) and the Bern Convention. Based on the worldwide threat it is, however, not included in the Red List.