Melongena patula

Melongena patula
Shell of Melongena patula from Nicaragua at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Neogastropoda
Family: Melongenidae
Genus: Melongena
Species: M. patula
Binomial name
Melongena patula
(Philippi, 1844)

Melongena patula, common name Pacific Crown Conch, is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Melongenidae.

Description

Melongena patula has a shell that reaches a length of 75 - 250 mm. The surface of this shell shows a deep chestnut brown color lined with a few white or yellow spiral bands. The interior is white. The shell is quite slender, sometimes spiny on the shoulders, with a wide aperture.

Distribution

This species can be found from the Gulf of California (Mexico) to Peru.[1]

Habitat

These sea snails live in shallow water, usually in sandy or muddy areas, especially under mangrove trees.

References

  1. ↑ A. Myra Keen (1971). Sea Shells of Tropical West America (2nd ed.). Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-0736-7.


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