You are here
Species
Urosalpinx cinerea (Say, 1822)
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Global warming is having a negative affect on numerous estuaries and wetlands located around the world. Global warming is causing the sea level to rise, which is causing a number of wetlands to be immersed in salt water causing a rapid decline in the number of estuaries. Not only are the wetlands being immersed in water causing the plant life to die but also it is carrying the salt water further and further inland raising the salinity content of the neighboring waters. Furthermore, increased drought frequencies caused by global warming will also cause the salinity content to rise. This is advantageous to Urosalpinx cinerea and other predatory gastropods who enjoy water with a high salinity content. As global warming increases, their populations are expected to increase while the number of oysters, clams, and other bivalves is expected to decrease in the near future. ( EPA, 2001)
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Urosalpinx_cinerea/ |
The shell of Urosalpinx cinerea is tall and conical with a sharply pointed spire. There are 7-8 whorls. The last whorl has with 10-12 ridges across the whorl and 16-18 prominent spiral lengthway ridges. The shell is yellowish or grey, sometimes with irregular brown marks. The shell is up to 4 cm high and 2 cm broad. The last whorl occupies about 70% of the shell height and the aperture 45-50%.The oval shell aperture has a thin and crenullate outer lip. The external features of the animal are similar to the dog whelk Nucella lapillus. The body is cream with dark markings on the tentacles and mantle edge. The head tentacles are flattened with eyes at the junction with the broader base. The foot is similar to Nucella lapillus.Urosalpinx cinerea was an unintentional introduction with American oysters Crassostrea virginica. It has limited adult mobility and the lack of a free-swimming larval stage prevents it spreading quickly. It was severely affected by tributyl tin (TBT) pollution. Urosalpinx cinerea predates native oysters and commercial oyster beds. It feeds by boring through oyster shells. The eggs of Urosalpinx cinerea are laid in capsules attached to oyster shells or stones. Each capsule has about 12 eggs, most of which hatch as juveniles. Urosalpinx cinerea resembles Ocenebra erinacea but the siphonal aperture is closed in Ocenebra erinacea and the shell is rough with uneven sculpturing. Urosalpinx cinerea also has a broader and fatter shell.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1998-2011, The Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom |
Source | http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=4549 |
The breeding season begins once the water temperature drops down into the 20s C and remains there for a week. The eggs are fertilized and deposited between rocks or on the floor of the ocean. The eggs are usually 240 microns in diameter. When the eggs are deposited with an albuminus substance that provides nourishment for the development of embryos. The cleavage of the egg is unequal and spiral with large polar lobes. The hatching embryo produces an enzyme that dissolves the protective sack. The average time it takes for an embryo to develop from fertilization to hatching is 40 days. The embryonic development itself is related to that of other gastropods. The veliger is formed at an early stage of development. Next, the foot appears and is formed before the blastopore closes. At this point, both the velum and the shell are well developed. The anus and intestinal track are late in forming. The velum is lost and the young snail emerges as a well-formed snail. (Costello & Henley, 2000)
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Urosalpinx_cinerea/ |
Cleavage is unequal and spiral, with large polar lobes appearing during the first two divisions. Gastrulation is by epiboly. At about the time of gastrulation, a hatching enzyme apparently is produced within the capsule; this dissolves the operculum (Hancock, 1956).
- Brooks, W. K., 1879. Preliminary observations upon the development of the marine prosobranchiate gasteropods. Stud. Biol. Lab., Johns Hopkins Univ., 1: no. 5, pp. 121-142.
- Bumpus, H. C., 1898. The breeding of animals at Woods Holl during the month of May, 1898. Science, 8: 58-61.
- Conklin, E. G., 1891. Preliminary note on the embryology of Crepidula fornicata and of Urosalpinx cinerea. Johns Hopkins Univ. Circ., 10: 89-90.
- Federighi, H., 1931. Studies on the oyster drill ( Urosalpinx cinerea, Say). Bull. U. S. Burl Fish., 47. 85-115.
- Federigtti, H., 1937. Culture methods for Urosalpinx cinerea. In: Culture Methods for Invertebrate Animals, edit. by Galtsoff et al., Comstock, Ithaca, pp. 532-536.
- Hancock, D. A., 1956. The structure of the capsule and the hatching process in Urosalpinx cinerea (Say). Proc. Zool. Soc., London, 127: 565-571.
- Lebour, M. V., 1937. The eggs and larvae of the British prosobranchs with special reference to those living in the plankton. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc., 22: 105-166.
- Nelson, J. R., 1931. Trapping the oyster drill. New Jersey Agric. Exp. Stat. Bull. no. 523.
Description, photos and discussion.
License | http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | marlo, marlo |
Source | http://z14.invisionfree.com/Conchologist_Forum/index.php?showtopic=1928 |
Urosalpinx cinerea spawns in spring and summer. Each female attaches approximately 20-40 leathery vase-shaped egg capsules to a hard surface. The capsule is transparent and half of centimeter in height (Franz 1971, Robinson and Dillon 2008).
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Text can be freely copied and altered, as long as original author and source are properly acknowledged. |
Source | http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/Urosalpinx_cinerea.htm |
The fertilized, uncleaved egg is spherical, measuring approximately 240 microns in diameter (Lebour, 1937). It is white in color and opaque, and lacks a membrane. The eggs are deposited with an albuminous substance, which provides nourishment for the developing embryos, in a yellow, urn-shaped capsule. This has a short stem and an expanded base, and is laterally compressed. The latter feature distinguishes it from the somewhat similar capsule of Thais. (See the diagram by Federighi' 1937.)
- Brooks, W. K., 1879. Preliminary observations upon the development of the marine prosobranchiate gasteropods. Stud. Biol. Lab., Johns Hopkins Univ., 1: no. 5, pp. 121-142.
- Bumpus, H. C., 1898. The breeding of animals at Woods Holl during the month of May, 1898. Science, 8: 58-61.
- Conklin, E. G., 1891. Preliminary note on the embryology of Crepidula fornicata and of Urosalpinx cinerea. Johns Hopkins Univ. Circ., 10: 89-90.
- Federighi, H., 1931. Studies on the oyster drill ( Urosalpinx cinerea, Say). Bull. U. S. Burl Fish., 47. 85-115.
- Federigtti, H., 1937. Culture methods for Urosalpinx cinerea. In: Culture Methods for Invertebrate Animals, edit. by Galtsoff et al., Comstock, Ithaca, pp. 532-536.
- Hancock, D. A., 1956. The structure of the capsule and the hatching process in Urosalpinx cinerea (Say). Proc. Zool. Soc., London, 127: 565-571.
- Lebour, M. V., 1937. The eggs and larvae of the British prosobranchs with special reference to those living in the plankton. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc., 22: 105-166.
- Nelson, J. R., 1931. Trapping the oyster drill. New Jersey Agric. Exp. Stat. Bull. no. 523.
Range: 46°N to 27.7°N; 81°W to 64°W. Distribution: Canada; Canada: Gulf of St. Lawrence; USA: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida; Florida: East Florida
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License |
Source | http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=140429 |
Atlantic oyster drill eggs develop directly into benthic juveniles, skipping a pelagic stage (Robinson and Dillon 2008). Newly emerged juveniles migrate to their food source. In a mid-Atlantic population, first season specimens were reported to associate closely with ectoprocts (Franz 1971). Most shell growth in Urosalpinx cinerea occurs in the first two seasons before the snail matures.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Text can be freely copied and altered, as long as original author and source are properly acknowledged. |
Source | http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/Urosalpinx_cinerea.htm |
There seems to be no detailed information pertaining to the developmental rate. The average time from fertilization to hatching at temperatures varying between 18 and 32° C. is 40 days (Federighi, 1931). Hancock (1956) reports that at temperatures of 14-21° C., the veliger stage is reached in about 24 days.
- Brooks, W. K., 1879. Preliminary observations upon the development of the marine prosobranchiate gasteropods. Stud. Biol. Lab., Johns Hopkins Univ., 1: no. 5, pp. 121-142.
- Bumpus, H. C., 1898. The breeding of animals at Woods Holl during the month of May, 1898. Science, 8: 58-61.
- Conklin, E. G., 1891. Preliminary note on the embryology of Crepidula fornicata and of Urosalpinx cinerea. Johns Hopkins Univ. Circ., 10: 89-90.
- Federighi, H., 1931. Studies on the oyster drill ( Urosalpinx cinerea, Say). Bull. U. S. Burl Fish., 47. 85-115.
- Federigtti, H., 1937. Culture methods for Urosalpinx cinerea. In: Culture Methods for Invertebrate Animals, edit. by Galtsoff et al., Comstock, Ithaca, pp. 532-536.
- Hancock, D. A., 1956. The structure of the capsule and the hatching process in Urosalpinx cinerea (Say). Proc. Zool. Soc., London, 127: 565-571.
- Lebour, M. V., 1937. The eggs and larvae of the British prosobranchs with special reference to those living in the plankton. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc., 22: 105-166.
- Nelson, J. R., 1931. Trapping the oyster drill. New Jersey Agric. Exp. Stat. Bull. no. 523.