Snail ID

[Thunil]

Hi everybody,
I posted this in two forums becuase I wasn't sure which one it belongs in.

Last night I set out a trap to catch a crab in my tank. When I got up to check it, it had this snail in it. I'm not sure what kind it is and would like an ID (in the back of my mind the name cone shell keeps popping up but thats probably paranoia)

Any opinions are appreciated

BTW the trap had shrimp in it so I'm guessing it's omnivorous or carnivorous.

Here are the pics

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/Thunil/2.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/Thunil/1.jpg

Cheers

[renogaw]

looks like some type of whelk or conch, but i'm not sure.

[pagojoe]

I don't have any references with me, and using the net only, I can't find any perfect matches. However, it's almost certainly a buccinid (whelk) in the subfamily Pisaniinae. Problem is, it looks like a cross between several different related species. The closest match I found is Pisania fasciculata, but I'm fairly sure it's not this species. It probably does belong in that genus, though (Pisania) or the closely-related genus Prodotia.

http://www.gastropods.com/3/Shell_3233.html

It should be carnivorous, but I'm not sure what it might normally eat. It's a very unusual animal. If I don't come up with a positive ID on it in the next day or two, I'll work on it when I get back home.

Cheers,



Don

[Thunil]

Thanks for the reply. It would be a great help if you can come up with any ID ideas.

Cheers,
Daniel

[pagojoe]

If you still have it isolated, could you take a pic of the shell aperture with the animal withdrawn? The closer you can get to a view like the one in the link I posted above, the better. If it has a notch in the lip at the spire end of the aperture, it may make me change my mind.

Cheers,



Don

[Thunil]

I'll take some photos shortly

[Thunil]

Here are the new pics, I hope that they are good enough for the ID, and thanks for all the work you are doing on this pagojoe.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/Thunil/4.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/Thunil/3.jpg

Cheers,
Daniel

[pagojoe]

Posted on the Reef Discussion thread, but I'll repost some of it here for those that find this thread and not the other.

Pisania species for sure, almost Pisania ignea, except for all the spiral sculpture on the upper whorls. My be an Australian subspecies of P. ignea, or it may be a closely-related species.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1272624

Cheers,


Don