Vermetidae
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Vermetidae, common name the worm snails or worm shells, is a taxonomic family of small to medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the order Sorbeoconcha, infraorder Littorinimorpha.
The shells of the Vermetidae are extremely irregular, and do not resemble the average snail shell, hence the common name "worm shells" or "worm snails".
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[edit] Shell description
These snails do not have typical regularly-coiled gastropod shells; instead they have very irregular elongated tubular shells which are moulded to, and cemented to, a surface of attachment such as a rock or another shell and so on. In the adult the apertural part of the shell is usually free, with the opening directed upward. Some species have an operculum and some do not. Damaged sections of the shell can be sealed off by calcareous septa when necessary.
Some vermetids are solitary, whereas others live in colonies, partially cemented together. The shells of species within this family are very variable and can sometimes be extremely challenging to identify.
[edit] The shells of vermetids compared with annelid worm tubes
The empty calcareous tubes of certain marine annelid tube worms, for example the Serpulidae can sometimes be casually misidentified as empty vermetid shells. The difference is that vermetid shells are shiny inside and have 3 shell layers, whereas the annelid worm tubes are dull inside and have only 2 shell layers.
[edit] Genera within the family Vermetidae
- Dendropoma Mörch, 1861
- Novastoa Finlay, 1927
- Petaloconchus I. Lea, 1843
- Serpulorbis Sasso, 1827
- Spiroglyptus Daudin, 1800
- Vermetus Cuvier, 1800
[edit] References
- Vermetidae (TSN 71342). Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- Powell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
- R. Tucker Abbott, 1986. Seashells of North America, St. Martin's Press, New York
