Mitra mitra
Encyclopedia
Mitra mitra, common name
the Episcopal miter, is a species
of large predatory sea snail
, a marine
gastropod mollusk in the family
Mitridae
, the miters.
, including Madagascar
and the Red Sea
, to eastern Polynesia
. North to southern Japan
, Wake Island
and Hawaii
, and south to Australia
.
and sublittoral zones, to a depth of around 80 m.
Like in all Mitridae, the shell is elongate, somewhat fusiform, with a high spire
. The aperture
is elongate and narrow, and the outer lip is smooth and not lirate. Unlike other species of the Mitra genus, the spire is not strongly shouldered. The surface of the shell is smooth, with a few weak, spiral grooves towards the anterior end. The colour is white, with spiral rows of large irregular orange or red spots.
Common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
the Episcopal miter, is a species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of large predatory sea snail
Sea snail
Sea snail is a common name for those snails that normally live in saltwater, marine gastropod molluscs....
, a marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
gastropod mollusk in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Mitridae
Mitridae
Mitridae, known as mitre shells, are a taxonomic family of sea snails, widely distributed marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Neogastropoda....
, the miters.
Distribution
Widespread in the Indo-Pacific, from East AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, including Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
and the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
, to eastern Polynesia
Polynesia
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
. North to southern Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Wake Island
Wake Island
Wake Island is a coral atoll having a coastline of in the North Pacific Ocean, located about two-thirds of the way from Honolulu west to Guam east. It is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior...
and Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, and south to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Habitat
This species lives in intertidalIntertidal zone
The intertidal zone is the area that is above water at low tide and under water at high tide . This area can include many different types of habitats, with many types of animals like starfish, sea urchins, and some species of coral...
and sublittoral zones, to a depth of around 80 m.
Feeding
Mitra mitra is known to be carnivorous, an active predator that feeds on smaller gastropods and bivalves.Shell description
The maximum shell length for this species is 18 cm, usually to 14 cm.Like in all Mitridae, the shell is elongate, somewhat fusiform, with a high spire
Spire (mollusc)
A spire is a descriptive term for part of the coiled shell of mollusks. The word is a convenient aid in describing shells, but it does not refer to a very precise part of shell anatomy: the spire consists of all of the whorls except for the body whorl...
. The aperture
Aperture (mollusc)
The aperture is an opening in certain kinds of mollusc shells: it is the main opening of the shell, where part of the body of the animal emerges for locomotion, feeding, etc....
is elongate and narrow, and the outer lip is smooth and not lirate. Unlike other species of the Mitra genus, the spire is not strongly shouldered. The surface of the shell is smooth, with a few weak, spiral grooves towards the anterior end. The colour is white, with spiral rows of large irregular orange or red spots.
Further reading
- Cosel R. V. (1977). "First record of Mitra mitra (Linnaeus, 1758) (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia) on the Pacific coast of Colombia". Veliger 19: 422-424.