Terebralia palustris, common name the giant mangrove whelk, is a species of brackish-water snail, a gastropodmollusk in the familyPotamididae.[1] This tropical species which inhabits mangrove environments of the Indo-West Pacific region,[2] has the widest geographic distribution amongst the potamidids [3] extending from eastern Africa to northern Australia. Terebralia palustris is the largest mangrove gastropod, with a maximum shell length of 190 mm recorded from Arnhem Land, Australia.[2]
The shell is generally described as elongate, thick, solid and turreted. It comprises as many as 20 flat-sided whorls with the early whorls being sculptured with strong colabral axial ribs. Spiral incised lines appear on the ninth or tenth whorl. These gradually increase in number to three.[2]
Growth is determinate for this species and full maturity is indicated by a thickened aperture margin. The size of mature adult snails varies between populations and in some cases maturity has been reported for individuals at only 45 mm total shell length.[2]
The head and foot are typically dark brown while the snout and tips of the cephalictentacles are black. In females, a ciliated groove on the right side of the foot leads to a large, bulbous white ovipositor which is situated internally near the base of the foot.[2]
The hemocyanin of this species was analyzed by Lieb et al. in 2010.[4] Its mega-hemocyanin have unusually high oxygen affinities.[4]
^ abcdefghHoubrick R. S. (1999) Systematic review and functional morphology of the mangrove snails Terebralia and Telescopium (Potamididae; Prosobranchia). Malacologica 33: 289-338.
^Pape E., Muthumbi A., Kamanu C. P., Vanreusel A. (2008) Size-dependent distribution and feeding habits of Terebralia palustris in mangrove habitats of Gazi Bay, Kenya. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 76: 797-808.
^ abcLieb B., Gebauer W., Gatsogiannis C., Depoix F., Hellmann N., Harasewych M. G., Strong E. E. & Markl J. (2010). "Molluscan mega-hemocyanin: an ancient oxygen carrier tuned by a ~550 kDa polypeptide". Frontiers in Zoology 2010, 7:14. doi:10.1186/1742-9994-7-14.
^Zvonareva S., Kantor Yu., Li X. & Britayev T. (2015). "Long-term monitoring of Gastropoda (Mollusca) fauna in planted mangroves in central Vietnam". Zoological Studies54: 39. doi:10.1186/s40555-015-0120-0.
Dautzenberg, Ph. (1929). Contribution à l'étude de la faune de Madagascar: Mollusca marina testacea. Faune des colonies françaises, III(fasc. 4). Société d'Editions géographiques, maritimes et coloniales: Paris. 321–636, plates IV-VII pp.
Steyn, D.G. & Lussi, M. (1998) Marine Shells of South Africa. An Illustrated Collector’s Guide to Beached Shells. Ekogilde Publishers, Hartebeespoort, South Africa, ii + 264 pp. page(s): 38
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
