Crown conch
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Melongena Temporal range: Late Miocene-Recent |
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| A live individual of Melongena corona righting itself by using its operculum | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Neogastropoda |
| Superfamily: | Buccinoidea |
| Family: | Melongenidae |
| Subfamily: | Melongeninae |
| Genus: |
Melongena Schumacher, 1817 |
| Synonyms | |
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Galeodes Röding, 1798 (non Olivi, 1791) |
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Galeodes Röding, 1798 (non Olivi, 1791)
Melongena is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Melongenidae, the crown conches and their allies.
Species within the genus Melongena include:
synonyms:
The shells of Melongena species are extremely variable in shape and sculpture, and historically this has meant that a large number of different forms have been named, creating numerous synonyms.
There is still some disagreement about how many modern species of Melongena actually exist. However, phylogenetic analysis indicate that there are only three species in the Western Atlantic, with all snails in coastal Florida being referred to Melongena corona.
The genus Melongena occurs only in the tropical Americas. It appears that three nominally valid species occur in the tropics of the western Atlantic: one in Florida, one in the Yucatan, and one in Central America and the Caribbean. A fourth species is found on the tropical eastern Pacific coast.
Species within this genus live in the tropical intertidal zone, in muddy areas such as under mangrove trees.
Melongena snails are carnivorous, primarily preying on small bivalves (clams, mussels and oysters). They will also feed on other species of snails and have been known to be cannibalistic.
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Wikipedia