eastern cape scuba diving
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Scientific name: |
Amalda obtusa |
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Common name: |
Obtusa olive snail |
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Taxonomy |
Phyulm |
Sub Phylum |
Class |
Sub Class |
Order |
Sub Order |
Family |
Sub Family |
Genus |
Species |
Mollusca |
Not Defined |
Gastropoda |
Orthogastropoda |
Neogastropoda |
Hypsogastropoda |
Olividae |
Not Defined |
Amalda |
Amalda obtusa |
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Short Description:
Shells of the family Olividae tend to be cylindrical, smooth and shiny, and variously patterned with numerous fine wrinkles. The spire is fairly low; the aperture is long, smooth, and without teeth; and, the columella shows folds. Like many gastropods, these molluscs maintain a highly polished shell, by pulling their mantle flaps over the exposed surface.
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Identification features: |
Shell highly polished, without any sculpture other then fine growth lines ; widest part of the aperture (near its lower end) less then half the diameter of the shell; operculum inconspicuous; The overall colour is different variants of brown bands seperated by a white line
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Size:
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30mm
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Behaviour:
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An Olive snail remains in the sand while it sticks its siphon above the surface. When it 'smells' suitable prey, it emerges to engulf the prey with its large foot, smothering it with slime and then dragging it beneath the sand to be eaten at leisure. |
Diet:
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Olive snails are predators. They feed on other snails, small crustaceans and also scavenge on dead animals |
Distribution:
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They are distributed in warm and tropical seas
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Depth:
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20m
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Habitat:
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Typically in sandy substrata
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Refernce: |
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Similar Species: |
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Database Statistics
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eastern cape scuba diving