Naticidae
- Phylum: Mollusca
- Class: Gastropoda
- Order: Littorinimorpha
- Family: Naticidae
Overview
Naticidae Guilding, 1834
Common Name: Moon snails
Extant/Extinct
Key morphological features: The Naticidae are mostly medium sized gastropods with delicate to solid to globose shells. The shells are umbilicate (have a hole at the base of the shell whorls). The spire is low and the body whorl is large. Naticid shells have a smooth exterior, but some species have weak sculptural patterns.
SIZE:
Paleoecology: The Naticidae are predatory marine gastropods that prey primarily on other mollusks by enveloping the prey in their muscular foot and drilling a beveled, circular hole through the shell through which they consume the prey’s flesh. They can be found at temperate to tropical latitudes.
MOBILITY: Mobile
FEEDING MODE: Predator
HABITAT: Semi-infaunal
Sources:
Davies, A.M. 1971. Tertiary Faunas Vol. 1, second edition. New York: American Elsevier Publishing Company, Inc. 571 pp.
Tunnell Jr., J.W., Andrews, J., Barrera, N.C., Moretzsohn, F. 2010. Encyclopedia of Texas Seashells. College Station: Texas A&M University Press. 512 pp.
