Urosalpinx
| Atlantic oyster drill | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Neogastropoda |
| Superfamily: | Muricoidea |
| Family: | Muricidae |
| Subfamily: | Ocenebrinae |
| Genus: | Urosalpinx |
| Species: | U. cinerea |
| Binomial name | |
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Urosalpinx cinerea (Say, 1822) |
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Urosalpinx cinerea, common name the eastern or Atlantic oyster drill, is a species of small predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murexes or rock snails.
They use chemoreception in their environment and are found to be sessile and encrusting organisms. Microscopic particles released by prey are carried through the sea water and captured by the Atlantic Oyster Drill. This animal is not physically able to close itself from its surrounding environment because of its siphonal canal.
This species is a serious problem in commercial oyster beds, and it has been accidentally introduced well outside its natural range.
This snail is endemic to the Atlantic coast of North America, from Nova Scotia to Nassau Sound in in Florida. It has been accidentally introduced with oyster spat to Northern Europe and to the West Coast of North America from California to Washington. They range in areas with salinity and temperature changing seasonally and with the tidal currents.
This species lives from low tide down to a depth of 25 feet. Its surroundings are rocky and shell beds. It inhabits the lower third of the littoral zone, therefore it is sheltered from any waves the ocean produces.
As indicated by its common name, this predatory snail drills through the shells of living oysters and consumes them. Its surroundings are rocky and shell beds. It inhabits the lower third of the littoral zone, therefore it is sheltered from any waves the ocean produces. It selects its food of choice by the odor of the prey. Once he embraces the barnacle or mussel with his foot, he drills through the shell. It feeds on many different species of invertebrates. A few favorites are the barnacle Balanus balanoides and the mussel Mytilus edulis. Food supply is mainly found in intertidal areas in the Atlantic region. The Atlantic Oyster Drill finds its food by smell. They are found to be more responsive to living food that ones that have been killed recently in a lab. But there is still no preference when it comes to the prey species or age.
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Wikipedia