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Neptunea antiqua

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Species of gastropod

Red whelk
Live individual of Neptunea antiqua
Shell
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Neogastropoda
Family: Buccinidae
Genus: Neptunea
Species: N. antiqua
Binomial name
Neptunea antiqua
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Neptunea antiqua, common name the red whelk, is a species of Northeast Atlantic sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Buccinidae, the true whelks.

Description

N. antiqua resembles Buccinum undatum (common whelk). It can grow to a length of 20 cm (7.9 in), although most specimens only reach half that size. It is the largest marine snail in parts of its range.

Distribution

N. antiqua is found in the Northeast Atlantic along cold-temperate European coasts, ranging from the low water mark to a depth of 1,200 m (3,900 ft).

Eggs of Neptunea antiqua

Feeding

N. antiqua is primarily a scavenger, although it has been recorded attacking and eating some living polychaete species. Unlike several of its more predatory relatives, experiments have shown that even hungry N. antiqua are not attracted to living undamaged mussels.

Food poisoning

Tetramethylammonium chloride, the principal toxin in red whelks

N. antiqua contains tetramethylammonium salts (most likely the chloride) in its tissues, and has been the source of non-lethal human poisoning.

References

  1. Neptunea antiqua (Linnaeus, 1758). Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 17 April 2010.
  2. ^ Naturstyrelsen: Rødkonk. Archived 11 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  3. ^ MarLIN: Red whelk - Neptunea antiqua. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  4. ^ Pearce and Thorson (1967). The feeding and reproductive biology of the red whelk, Neptunea antiqua (L.) (Gastropoda, Prosobranchia). Ophelia 4(2): 277–314.
  5. U. Anthoni, L. Bohlin, C. Larsen, P. Nielsen, N. H. Nielsen, and C. Christophersen (1989). "The toxin tetramine from the "edible" whelk Neptunea antiqua." Toxicon 27 717–723.
Taxon identifiers
Neptunea antiqua
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