Telescopium telescopium

Telescopium telescopium
Five views of a shell of Telescopium telescopium
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Caenogastropoda
clade Sorbeoconcha
Superfamily: Cerithioidea
Family: Potamididae
Genus: Telescopium
Species: T. telescopium
Binomial name
Telescopium telescopium
Synonyms[1]

Potamides telescopium Linnaeus, 1758

Telescopium telescopium, or "Horn snail," is a species of marine gastropod molluscs in the family Potamididae.[1] It is found in mangrove forests throughout the coastlines of the Indian Ocean.

Description

This large snail has an 8–15 cm tall, conical shell strongly reminiscent of an ice cream cone. T. telescopium is commonly seen in Southeast Asian mangroves, on mud, sometimes in the hundreds covering a large area. It is also called 'Rodong' or 'Berongan' in Malay.

The largest of Horn snails, the heavy conical shell is actually beautifully marked but the patterns are usually hidden by mud and other encrusting animals. The outer lip is thin and not flared. Operculum small and circular. The animal is velvety black with a highly extendible proboscis. There is a third eye on its mantle margin, in addition to a pair of eyes at the tentacles. It can stay out of water for long periods of time.

Telescopium feeds on detritus and algae from the mud surface at low tide by sucking using its proboscis.

Human relevance

This species is gathered for food in Southeast Asia and is often sold in traditional markets. It is steamed and eaten with chili.

Distribution

  • Australia - northern mangroves
  • Madagascar[1]
  • Pakistan
  • Philippines
  • Sri Lanka
  • West Bengal, India

References

  1. 1 2 3 Telescopium telescopium (Linnaeus, 1758).  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 17 May 2010.
  • Reid, D.G., Dyal, P., Lozouet, P., Glaubrecht, M. & Williams, S.T. (2008) Mudwhelks and mangroves: the evolutionary history of an ecological association (Gastropoda: Potamididae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 47: 680-699


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