Nassarius obsoletus

Taxobox
name = Eastern mudsnail
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Mollusca
classis = Gastropoda
subclassis = Orthogastropoda
superordo = Caenogastropoda
ordo = Sorbeoconcha
subordo = Hypsogastropoda
infraordo = Neogastropoda
superfamilia = Buccinoidea
familia = Nassariidae
genus = "Nassarius"
species = "N. obsoletus"
binomial = "Nassarius obsoletus"Cite web|url=http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=74111|title=ITIS- N. obsoletus|accessdate=2007-02-19]
binomial_authority = Say, 1822

The eastern mudsnail, "Nassarius obsoletus", is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Nassariidae, the nassa mud snails.

Distribution

This western Atlantic species is found from Nova Scotia to Georgia.

Habitat

This snail is very common on mud flats in the intertidal and shallow subtidal zones, in sounds and inlets.

hell description

This species has a small shell which has a slightly rough exterior because the surface has intersecting weak spiral and axial ribs. The shell has an oval aperture with a small notch or siphonal canal at the anterior end. The aperture has a smooth inner lip with a partial shield, and the outer lip is thin and smooth. The exterior of the shell is a chalky white, but it is covered by a very dark brown, closely-adhering periostracum, except in areas of the shell where the periostracum has been eroded. The apex of the shell is almost always eroded, and the shell is often quite damaged by the acidic properties of the mud in which the animal lives.

The maximum shell length is a little more than one inch, or about 28 mm.

Life habits

This species is a detritus feeder, eating whatever is found in the film on top of the mud where it lives, including many microscopic marine plants.

References

External links

* [http://mollus.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/46/3/247 Blakeman Smith, Journal of Molluscan Studies]
* [http://life.bio.sunysb.edu/marinebio/pdfkelaherjembe03.pdf Kelaher et al., J Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology]