Thylacodes variabilis

Thylacodes variabilis
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Littorinimorpha
Family:	Vermetidae
Genus:	Thylacodes
Species:	T. variabilis
Binomial name
	Thylacodes variabilis; (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	Serpulorbis variabilis M. G. Hadfield & Kay, 1972 superseded combination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.^[1]

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.^[2] 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.^[3]

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.^[4] They can also be transported on vessel hulls and other drifting substrates.^[5]

References

^ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Thylacodes variabilis (M. G. Hadfield & Kay, 1972)". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
^ Hoover, John P. (1998). Hawai'i's sea creatures : a guide to Hawai'i's marine invertebrates. Scott Johnson ([First edition] ed.). [Honolulu, Hawaii]: Mutual Pub. ISBN 1-56647-220-2. OCLC 41975146.
^ "Thylacodes variabilis, Vermetid worm". www.sealifebase.se. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
^ Bieler, Rüdiger; Granados-Cifuentes, Camila; Rawlings, Timothy A.; Sierwald, Petra; Collins, Timothy M. (2017-04-05). "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)". PeerJ. 5: e3158. doi:10.7717/peerj.3158. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 5384567.
^ Buckland-Nicks, John; Hadfield, Michael G. (January 2005). "Spermatogenesis in Serpulorbis (Mollusca: Vermetoidea) and its implications for phylogeny of gastropods". Invertebrate Reproduction & Development. 48 (1–3): 171–184. doi:10.1080/07924259.2005.9652183. ISSN 0792-4259.

External links

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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[1] "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Thylacodes variabilis (M. G. Hadfield & Kay, 1972)". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2022-09-09.

[2] Hoover, John P. (1998). Hawai'i's sea creatures : a guide to Hawai'i's marine invertebrates. Scott Johnson ([First edition] ed.). [Honolulu, Hawaii]: Mutual Pub. ISBN 1-56647-220-2. OCLC 41975146.

[3] "Thylacodes variabilis, Vermetid worm". www.sealifebase.se. Retrieved 2024-04-03.

[4] Bieler, Rüdiger; Granados-Cifuentes, Camila; Rawlings, Timothy A.; Sierwald, Petra; Collins, Timothy M. (2017-04-05). "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)". PeerJ. 5: e3158. doi:10.7717/peerj.3158. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 5384567.

[:02-5] Buckland-Nicks, John; Hadfield, Michael G. (January 2005). "Spermatogenesis in Serpulorbis (Mollusca: Vermetoidea) and its implications for phylogeny of gastropods". Invertebrate Reproduction & Development. 48 (1–3): 171–184. doi:10.1080/07924259.2005.9652183. ISSN 0792-4259.

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