Javier Couper (Predomalpha), New Zealand
Info
Haustrum haustorium belongs to the largest family of marine snails, the spiny snails, these snails are known by a more or less bizarre spiny shell and a horny operculum.
Their shell has a low tip, faint spiral grooves and a large opening, the shell is dark brown to purple in colour.
Haustrum haustorium is a predatory marine gastropod that lives on bivalves (including oysters) and snails by using its radula to bore a small hole in the shell of bivalves or the shell of snails and then eating its victims.
Oyster borers prefer to live in the low to mid intertidal zone in sheltered to moderately exposed locations.
These snails protect themselves against possible drying out during hot periods with a layer of mucus on their shell opening.
Synonymised names:
Buccinum haustorium Gmelin, 1791
Buccinum haustrum Martyn, 1784
Haustrum zealandicum Perry, 1811
Microtoma unicolor Swainson, 1840
Purpura haustrum (Martyn, 1784)
Their shell has a low tip, faint spiral grooves and a large opening, the shell is dark brown to purple in colour.
Haustrum haustorium is a predatory marine gastropod that lives on bivalves (including oysters) and snails by using its radula to bore a small hole in the shell of bivalves or the shell of snails and then eating its victims.
Oyster borers prefer to live in the low to mid intertidal zone in sheltered to moderately exposed locations.
These snails protect themselves against possible drying out during hot periods with a layer of mucus on their shell opening.
Synonymised names:
Buccinum haustorium Gmelin, 1791
Buccinum haustrum Martyn, 1784
Haustrum zealandicum Perry, 1811
Microtoma unicolor Swainson, 1840
Purpura haustrum (Martyn, 1784)
