Thylacodes variabilis
{{Short description|Species of mollusc}}
{{Speciesbox
| image =
| genus = Thylacodes
| species = variabilis
| authority = (Hadfield & Kay, 1972)
| synonyms = Serpulorbis variabilis M. G. Hadfield & Kay, 1972 superseded combination
}}
Thylacodes variabilis is a species of worm snail common in the rocky intertidal in Hawaiʻi and the tropical Pacific.{{Cite web |title=WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Thylacodes variabilis (M. G. Hadfield & Kay, 1972) |url=https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=709511 |access-date=2022-09-09 |website=World Register of Marine Species}}
Description
Thylacodes variabilis has a white-brown shell, which is coiled or partly straight and can reach a diameter of 14 millimeters. The shell is often overgrown with coralline algae or coated with sand grains. This is the only worm snail in Hawaii that has no operculum.{{Cite book |last=Hoover |first=John P. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/41975146 |title=Hawai'i's sea creatures : a guide to Hawai'i's marine invertebrates |date=1998 |publisher=Mutual Pub |others=Scott Johnson |isbn=1-56647-220-2 |edition=[First edition] |location=[Honolulu, Hawaii] |oclc=41975146}} Their body color is polychromatic, individuals vary in coloration from white to beige, brown, yellow and orange. Like other members of its family, Thylacodes variabilis filter algae and detritus out of the water column as their source of nutrients.{{Cite web |date= |title=Thylacodes variabilis, Vermetid worm |url=https://www.sealifebase.se/summary/Thylacodes-variabilis |url-status= |access-date=2024-04-03 |website=www.sealifebase.se}}
Reproduction
Females of Thylacodes variabilis brood their offspring in egg capsules that are attached to the inside of their shells.
Habitat
Thylacodes variabilis resides down to depths of 40 feet. The snail lives in open environments, to include: tide pools, shallow, wave-swept reef flats, and rocky reefs. They attach their shell to natural and artificial surfaces.{{Cite journal |last=Bieler |first=Rüdiger |last2=Granados-Cifuentes |first2=Camila |last3=Rawlings |first3=Timothy A. |last4=Sierwald |first4=Petra |last5=Collins |first5=Timothy M. |date=2017-04-05 |title=Non-native molluscan colonizers on deliberately placed shipwrecks in the Florida Keys, with description of a new species of potentially invasive worm-snail (Gastropoda: Vermetidae) |url=https://peerj.com/articles/3158 |journal=PeerJ |language=en |volume=5 |pages=e3158 |doi=10.7717/peerj.3158 |issn=2167-8359 |pmc=5384567 |doi-access=free}} They can also be transported on vessel hulls and other drifting substrates.{{Cite journal |last=Buckland-Nicks |first=John |last2=Hadfield |first2=Michael G. |date=January 2005 |title=Spermatogenesis in Serpulorbis (Mollusca: Vermetoidea) and its implications for phylogeny of gastropods |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07924259.2005.9652183 |journal=Invertebrate Reproduction & Development |language=en |volume=48 |issue=1-3 |pages=171–184 |doi=10.1080/07924259.2005.9652183 |issn=0792-4259}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/30847385_The_Vermetidae_Mollusca_Gastropoda_of_the_Hawaiian_Islands Hadfield, M. G. & Kay, E. A. In: Hadfield, M.G., Kay, E.A, Gillette, M.U. & Lloyd, M.C. (1972). The Vermetidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of the Hawaiian Islands. Marine Biology. 12(1): 81-98]
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