Melongena corona | |
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Melongena corona | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Gastropoda |
(unranked): | clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Neogastropoda |
Superfamily: | Buccinoidea |
Family: | Melongenidae |
Subfamily: | Melongeninae |
Genus: | Melongena |
Species: | M. corona |
Binomial name | |
Melongena corona (Gmelin, 1791) |
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Synonyms | |
Melongena pyruloides (DeKay 1843) |
Melongena pyruloides (DeKay 1843)
Melongena corona altispira (Pilsbry and Vanatta 1934)
Melongena corona aspinosa (Dall, 1890)
Melongena corona bicolor (Say, 1827)
Melongena corona corona (Gmelin, 1791)
Melongena corona johnstonei (Clench & Turner, 1956)
Melongena corona sprucecreekensis (Tucker, 1994)
Melongena corona, common name the Florida crown conch, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Melongenidae, the crown conches and their allies.
The shell of this species is extremely variable in terms of the degree of spiny ornamentation. Some shells are much smoother than others. These snails cane as large as about 5 in (12 cm) long, and are mostly dark brown with irregular bands of white or cream. There are small spines on the largest whorl of the smoother forms,; the most spiny forms have several rows of spines. The aperture of the shell can be closed at will with an operculum. This snail is a predator; it eats other mollusks, including scallops.