Thylacodes squamigerus

Thylacodes squamigerus
A view of the shell of a live Thylacodes squamigerus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Littorinimorpha
Family: Vermetidae
Genus: Thylacodes
Species:
T. squamigerus
Binomial name
Thylacodes squamigerus
(Carpenter, 1856)

Thylacodes squamigerus, commonly known as the scaled worm snail, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Vermetidae, the worm snails. This species was previously known as Serpulorbis squamigerus.

Description

The shell of the scaled worm snail is often cemented into colonies. It is a uniquely sedentary snail. The shells can grow up to about 5 in (12.7 cm) long and 0.5 in (1.3 cm) wide. The growth of the shell is irregular, as it shapes to the surface it is attached to. The opening of the shell has no operculum and faces upward. The color of the shell is gray or pinkish. Scaly, longitudinal ribs run along the shell, giving the worm snail its common name.

Distribution and habitat

The scaled worm snail lives along the Pacific coast of North America, from California to Baja California. In 2013 to 2015, the marine heatwave given the name the Blob was documented to have allowed for a northern push of the worm snail to regions of California it had previously not been observed in.

Within the scaled worm snail's range, it is found living attached to rock and dock pilings in protected areas. It can live at depths ranging from the intertidal zone to 20 m (65 ft).

Biology

Similar to other worm snails, the scaled worm snail feeds by spinning mucus into a net that attaches to the substrate around it. This net captures detritus in the water, including small pieces of kelp. The worm snail uses its radula to collect the detritus off the trap.

References

  1. ↑ Bieler, R. "Thylacodes squamigerus (Carpenter, 1857)". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  2. ↑ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Thylacodes squamigerus (P. P. Carpenter, 1857)". www.marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2026-09-08.
  3. 1 2 Russo, Ron; Olhausen, Pam (1981). Pacific Intertidal Life: A guide to organisms of rocky reefs and tide pools of the Pacific Coast. AdventureKEEN. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-912550-32-9.
  4. 1 2 3 Meinkoth, Norman August; National Audubon Society, eds. (1990). The Audubon Society field guide to North American seashore creatures. The Audubon Society field guide series (4. print ed.). New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-394-51993-7.
  5. ↑ Michaud, Kristen M.; Reed, Daniel C.; Miller, Robert J. (2022-10-28). "The Blob marine heatwave transforms California kelp forest ecosystems". Communications Biology. 5 (1). Nature Publishing Group: 1143. doi:10.1038/s42003-022-04107-z. ISSN 2399-3642. PMC 9614761.
  6. ↑ Yorke, Christie E.; Page, Henry M.; Miller, Robert J. (2019-07-10). "Sea urchins mediate the availability of kelp detritus to benthic consumers". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 286 (1906) 20190846. doi:10.1098/rspb.2019.0846. ISSN 0962-8452. PMC 6650708.
  7. ↑ Kappner, I; Al-Moghrabi, Sm; Richter, C (2000). "Mucus-net feeding by the vermetid gastropod Dendropoma maxima in coral reefs". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 204: 309–313. doi:10.3354/meps204309. ISSN 0171-8630.