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First field study of the Brazilian endemic marine gastropod Voluta ebraea (Mollusca: Volutidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2009

Thelma Lúcia Pereira Dias
Thelma Lúcia Pereira Dias*
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Departamento de Sistemática e Ecologia, Laboratório de Invertebrados Paulo Young, Campus I, João Pessoa, PB, 58051-900, Brazil
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: T.L.P. Dias, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Departamento de Sistemática e Ecologia, Laboratório de Invertebrados Paulo Young, Campus I, João Pessoa, PB, 58051-900, Brazil email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Aspects of the habitat, size structure, and interactions of Voluta ebraea in the wild are provided here for the first time from underwater observations on coastal reefs at Cabo Branco, north-eastern Brazil. Seventeen different sized individuals of V. ebraea were observed, with the largest individual reaching 15 cm in shell length. This species inhabits mainly sandy bottoms, but is also found on rocks, on the sand among algae, and on gravel bottoms. Voluta ebraea feeds on the bivalve Trachycardium muricatum during the day, apparently detecting its prey through chemoreception. When hunting, V. ebraea moved forward towards T. muricatum and then raised the front edge of its muscular foot in an attempt to cover the bivalve and capture it. The data presented can be used in the implementation of conservation measures to help conserve natural populations of this endemic Brazilian gastropod.

Keywords

habitatsize structurefeeding behaviour
Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 2 , January 2009 , e10
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2009

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