Crown Conch
Melongena corona
Description 7
The crown conch, Melongena corona, is a medium to large carnivorous gastropod with a low spire, large body whorl, and prominent vertical-curved white spines on the shoulder of each whorl that give the species its common name. It has a glossy shell that is brownish-grey to purple with white to yellow-white spiral bands. The columella is thick and white, and the operculum is robust and horny (Kaplan 1988, Rupert and Fox 1988).
Distribution 8
Melongena corona is a tropical to subtropical species occurring on both coasts of the Florida peninsula, eastern Alabama, and throughout much of the West Indies south to South America. On the east coast, the northern distribution limit is currently reported as Matanzas Inlet south of St. Augustine (Hayes 2003). Melongena corona occur throughout the intertidal of the India River Lagoon system.
Look alikes 9
Highly variable coloration, size, and shell architecture, and the physical discontinuity of habitat in which ) Melongena is found have led to considerable taxonomic debate as to the designation of distinct species and subspecies. Historically, a number of putative Melongena species and M. corona subspecies have been collectively been referred to as the "corona complex." Recent DNA sequence analysis conducted by Hayes (2003), however, provided no support for historic taxonomic subdesignations and indicated that the corona complex consists of the single polymorphic species M. corona.
Reproduction 10
Melongena corona is a direct-developing prosobranch gastropod in which the sexes are separate and females are on average slightly larger than males (Loftin 1987). The species, like all but the most ancestral gastropods, exhibits sexual reproduction via copulation and internal fertilization (Barnes 1987).From late winter through summer, reproductive females embed from 15 to more than 500 eggs into protective egg capsules which they attach to a variety of low intertidal substrata in ribbon-like rows of between 6 and 20 capsules (Hathaway and Woodburn 1961). Suitable attachment substrates include rocks, shells of both dead and living organisms, mangrove roots, seagrass blades, wood, and a variety of artificial materials (Clench and Turner 1956, Loftin 1987, Hayes 2003).
Link to Access Genomic Data 11
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=399971&lvl=0
Sources and Credits
- (c) Bob Peterson, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/pondapple/8386471216/
- (c) 2011 Marlo F. Krisberg, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=389779&one=T
- (c) 2011 Marlo F. Krisberg, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=389780&one=T
- (c) 2011 Marlo F. Krisberg, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=389781&one=T
- (c) 2011 Marlo F. Krisberg, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=389782&one=T
- (c) 2011 Marlo F. Krisberg, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=389783&one=T
- (c) Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/11526413
- Adapted by matbio from a work by (c) Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/11526414
- Adapted by matbio from a work by (c) Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/11526416
- Adapted by matbio from a work by (c) Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/11526418
- (c) Emily Rose Sharkey, all rights reserved
