Charonia variegata (Atlantic trumpet triton snail) (offshore Fortaleza, Brazil) 1 (23883135374)

Description:

Description: Charonia variegata (Lamarck, 1816) - Atlantic trumpet triton snail from Brazil. (oblique apertural view) (public display, Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum, Sanibel Island, Florida, USA) The gastropods (snails & slugs) are a group of molluscs that occupy marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments. Most gastropods have a calcareous external shell (the snails). Some lack a shell completely, or have reduced internal shells (the slugs & sea slugs & pteropods). Most members of the Gastropoda are marine. Most marine snails are herbivores (algae grazers) or predators/carnivores. From museum signage: "This remarkable world size record shell measures 387.5 mm (about 16 inches), was collected off Fortaleza in northeastern Brazil at a depth of 45 meters (about 140 feet), and was donated to the Shell Museum by the late Jim VunKannon, who was a Shell Museum member and supporter. This shell earned Jim a number of prizes for "Shell of the Show" in shell shows in Florida and around the United States." Classification: Animalia, Mollusca, Gastropoda, Ranellidae Locality: offshore Fortaleza, eastern Brazil More info. at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_triton. Date: 4 January 2016, 12:38. Source: Charonia variegata (Atlantic trumpet triton snail) (offshore Fortaleza, Brazil) 1. Author: James St. John.