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Family Columbellidae - dove shells
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Class |
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Gastropoda |
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Environment |
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Fresh : No |
Brackish : No |
Marine : Yes |
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Remark |
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Shell generally small, fusiform to biconical in shape, with a conical, more or less elongate spire. Outer surface without axial varices, ribbed or smoothish, often boldly coloured. Periostracum variably developed to absent. Aperture long and narrow, with a rather short, anterior siphonal canal. Outer lip commonly thick, smooth or denticulate inside, sometimes with a not folded. Operculum corneous, thin and small to absent, with an apical nucleus. Head with long and slender tentacles, bearing eyes at their outer bases. Foot rather strong and narrow, pointed behind. Fleshy siphon very long. Very active, omnivorous crawlers, living in warm temperate and tropical marine environments. Often abundant in intertidal and shallow subtidal zones. Sexes separate, fertilization internal. Eggs protected by corneous capsules attached singly or in groups to the substrate by a flat basal disc. Hatching as free-swimming planktonic larvae, or directly as crawling juveniles. Though sometimes used as food, dove shells are mainly collected for their brightly coloured, elegant shells (Ref. 348). |
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