Bullia digitalis
| Bullia digitalis | |
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| File:Bullia digitalis - Plough snail 0350.jpg | |
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B. digitalis
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| Binomial name | |
| Bullia digitalis (Dillwyn, 1817)
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Bullia digitalis, the Finger Plough Shell or Plough Snail, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Nassariidae, the Nassa mud snails or dog whelks.[1] These dominant scavengers scent decaying animal matter from a considerable distance so that they converge from all directions to feed.
Contents
Description
Length: 60 mm
Narrow, smooth shell with a long, pointed spire, usually light yellow or creamy, often tinged with violet or yellow.[2][3][4] The large, oval foot is offwhite.[2][4] The operculum has serrated margins.[2]
Distribution
Lower east, south, south-west and west coast of South Africa.[3] Best viewing: Kei Mouth.[5]
Status
Common to locally very common;[4] the dominant plough shell on Atlantic shores.[2]
Habitat
Sandy beaches along the surf zone,[3] low on the shore [2] from middle tidal zone seawards where the sand is not too coarse.[4]
Behaviour
When the tide starts to rise, this snail emerges from the sand, spreads its large "foot" like a sail, and surfs up the beach in response to the smell of carrion.[2][3] The large foot is also used to burrow into the sand when the tide recedes.[3] Sticks its proboscis into the prey to suck up soft tissues.[3] Often gathers in large numbers to feed on dead and stranded jellyfish and bluebottles.[2][3]
Similar species
Various plough shells on the southern African coast look similar, including Bullia rhodostoma on the south coast and Bullia natalensis (Pleated Plough Shell) on the coast of KwaZulu-Natal.[4] B. digitalis however does not have pleated whorls like the Pleated Plough Shell.[3] All the common plough shells on the coast can only de differentiated for each other by their colour.[4]
See also
References
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- ↑ Bullia digitalis . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 18 April 2010.
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