Specimen found, in box, all alone, during 2016 inventory of IZ-Shell collection. Specimen has a broken edge (no pieces present). Specimen was placed with its fellow bretheren in I.50-08
- Catalog Number:
- 34403
- Object/Specimen Description:
- Specimen Count:
- 4
- Precise Locality:
Balboa Bay
- Locality:
- US Pacific (CA, OR, WA)
- Collecting Date:
- 2-Jan-72
- Collecting Locality:
- North America, Balboa Bay, United States, California, Orange County
- Upper Level Taxonomy:
- Animalia, Mollusca, Gastropoda, Heterobranchia, Cephalaspidea, Bullidae
The gastropods are the most diverse group of mollusks, and include snails, slugs, limpets, conchs, sea slugs, and others. They typically have a coiled body form with a twisted gut and nervous system. The coiling results in the unusual arrangement of their anus being above their head. Most have a corresponding coiled shell. Coils are added as the gastropod grows, and they tend to get larger, making a cone shape. Some shells are adorned with spines, grooves, or other textures that add strength. Many have a hard flap (operculum) on the foot that can be closed over the shell opening like a trap door. The shape of a gastropod shell often can be used to identify species. A gastropod's shell not only protects it from predation, but also keeps land species (terrestrial) from drying out. Some terrestrial gastropods that live in humid places, such as slugs, have a thin shell or no shell at all.