Abstract
Marine gastropods of the family Naticidae are worldwide distributed and known for their unusual predatory habits. Due to their wide distribution, the naticids are worldwide studied and known like predators of intertidal bivalves. The present study demonstrates the predation of the naticid gastropod Natica marochiensis on the bivalve Donax striatus in the northeastern region of Brazil.
Highlights
Marine gastropods of the family Naticidae have a worldwide distribution and are known for their unusual predatory habits (Vermeij, 1980; Carriker, 1981; Dietl & Kelley, 2006)
The occurrence of N. marochiensis predation over D. striatus occurred in the intertidal zone of Camocim beach (2°51'53.41"S, 40°54'11.20"W), located on the coast of the state of Ceará, northeastern Brazil
The predation of N. marochiensis on D. striatus represents three different stages: (1) prey detection, probably by smell or sediment movements, as proposed by Hughes (1985), (2) manipulation of the prey using the extensive mantle of the naticids which is able to cover their prey and immobilize them for an indeterminate time and (3) burial of the predatory gastropod in the sand with its prey for consumption of the visceral mass of the bivalve (Figures 1A-H)
Summary
Marine gastropods of the family Naticidae have a worldwide distribution and are known for their unusual predatory habits (Vermeij, 1980; Carriker, 1981; Dietl & Kelley, 2006). Predation by naticids on bivalves can occur through the perforation of the shell (Carriker, 1981; Das, Hutchings & Herbert, 2013; Mallick, Bardhan, Das, Paul, & Goswami, 2014; Paul & Herbert, 2014 Chattopadhyay, & Chattopadhyay, 2015), which is achieved by the radula which is able to dissolve the calcium carbonate of the prey shell. In addition to shell perforation, studies suggest suffocation (or asphyxiation) of the prey via engulfing by the mantle of predator gastropod as an alternative methodology (Hughes, 1985; Ansell & Morton, 1987; Visaggi, Dietl, & Kelley, 2013). The present work had the objective of evidencing of non-drilling predation of the N. marochiensis gastropod on the bivalve Donax striatus Linnaeus, 1767
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