Faunus ater
Species of mollusc
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Faunus ater is a species of brackish water snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusc in the family Pachychilidae.[1]
| Faunus ater | |
|---|---|
| |
| A shell of Faunus ater | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
| Order: | incertae sedis |
| Family: | Pachychilidae |
| Genus: | Faunus |
| Species: | F. ater |
| Binomial name | |
| Faunus ater (Linnaeus, 1758) | |
_-_Pachychilidae_-_Mollusc_shell.jpeg)
Faunus ater is the only extant species within the genus Faunus.[1]
Distribution
Description
The periostracum is thick, and the color of the periostracum is dark brown or black.[1] The shell has about 20 whorls.[1] The apical whorls may be eroded in older snails.[1] The aperture is ovate and white.[1] The shell is unique among Cerithioidea, because it has two deep sinuses: an anal sinus which is close to the suture and an anterior sinus more forward in the aperture.[1] The height of the aperture is about one-fifth of the height of the shell.[1]
The height of the shell is usually 50–60 mm, but can be up to 90 mm.[1]
The operculum is oval, corneous and dark brown in color.[1]
The snail has a broad snout.[1] The radula is large and is located in a correspondingly large buccal mass.[1]
Ecology
This snail lives in slightly brackish water.[1] It has also been reported from freshwater.[1] It is the only pachychilid species that lives in brackish water; the other species in the family are freshwater snails.
The population density can reach up to 6700 snails per m2.[1]
This snail probably feeds by grazing.[1]
It is oviparous.[1] It probably has free-swimming larvae.[1]
Human use
This snail is used as a food source for humans in the Philippines and in Thailand.[1]
