Petaloconchus keenae
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Littorinimorpha
Family: Vermetidae
Genus: Petaloconchus
Species:
P. keenae
Binomial name
Petaloconchus keenae
M. G. Hadfield & Kay, 1972

Petaloconchus keenae is a worm snail common in intertidal and subtidal areas in Hawaiʻi and the tropical Pacific.[1] It has a symbiotic relationship with multiple coral genera, such as Porites, Montipora, and Pavona.[2]

Classification:

Petaloconchus Keenae are gastropoda belonging to the subclass Caenogastropoda and the family Vermitadae.

Distribution:

This species is common in intertidal and subtidal areas in Hawaiʻi and the tropical Pacific. It is found in the Central Pacific: Guam and Hawaii. This species is notorious because of its harmful effect on the growth, survival, and photophysiology of host corals. Petaloconchus keenae is a worm snail common in intertidal and subtidal areas in Hawaiʻi and the tropical Pacific.

Habitat:

The habitat of Petaloconchus sp. resembles that of P. keenae, which has been reported as an associate of the Indo-Pacific coral genera Porites, Montipora, and Pavona at the Hawaiian islands and possibly as Petaloconchuscf. keenae living in corals at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. It is therefore reasonable to speculate that the coral-associated Petaloconchus sp. in the southern Caribbean is the same species and that it has been introduced from the tropical Indo-Pacific.  

Description:

Petaloconchus keenae is a species of snail in the family worm-snails. The vermetidae are sessile gastropods distributed in tropical and subtropical seas (latitude 44 degrees N-44 degree S), abundant in the intertidal zone and also in the subtidal zone. Petaloconchus is one of the five belonging genera that Vermitidae are known at present.  Petaloconchus keenae are typically coiled adult shells as seen on smooth surfaces and irregularly coiled adult shells. In the shell of Petaloconchus calcareous plates (spiral) laminate project and hang down from the upper wall of the tube, their function is unknown. The shell harbors in the anterior part of the relatively small soft body, which is able to retreat wholly in the shell.

Anatomy:

Adult vermetids are mostly welded to or embedded in solid substrates: rocks, stones, coral, and shells. The adaptations for the sessile node of life are reflected in modifications of the shell, operculum, gill, and methods of feeding a reproduction. The shells of vermetids are attached to the substrate by their apex. The apical whorls (2-4) are transparent, colorless, and spirally coiled, they are the earliest one of the shell and constitute the protoconch which appears in the embryo and remains at the apex of the adult shell. In Petaloconchus the operculum is smaller than the aperture. Petaloconchus keenae can range the body length to 42mm and body volume can range to 6.56 cm^3. They also have sexual reproduction.

Reproduction:

The sperm are enclosed in spermatophores produced within the male gonoduc. The vermetid spermatophores are oval to teardrop-shaped that can range from less than 1 mm to 12.5 mm. They are liberated by the male into the seawater, dispersed by waves and currents, and chance to reach females. When spermatophores are drifted by the inhalant current or caught in mucous feeding nets, they are brought to the mouth of the female.

Growth:

Vermetids are sessile, worm-like gastropods with irregular shell coiling and growth patterns, which live attached on hard substrata, usually in the intertidal zone or in the shallow subtidal zone of warm-temperate and tropical seashores.

Human use:

Although this species can’t be eaten, it is harmless to humans.

Cultural significance:

In Hawaiian custom, snails were the voice of the forest, they embodied the Polynesian oral tradition of passing on one’s genealogy through singing, making them extremely important to the cultural practices of hula and chant.  

References

  1. ↑ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Petaloconchus keenae M. G. Hadfield & Kay, 1972". www.marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  2. ↑ Hoeksema, Bert W.; Harper, Charlotte E.; Langdon-Down, Sean J.; van der Schoot, Roel J.; Smith-Moorhouse, Annabel; Spaargaren, Roselle; Timmerman, Rosalie F. (March 2022). "Host Range of the Coral-Associated Worm Snail Petaloconchus sp. (Gastropoda: Vermetidae), a Newly Discovered Cryptogenic Pest Species in the Southern Caribbean". Diversity. 14 (3): 196. doi:10.3390/d14030196. ISSN 1424-2818.
  1. 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
  2. Petaloconchus - Mindat.Org, www.mindat.org/taxon-8042336.html. Accessed 11 Nov. 2023. https://www.mindat.org/taxon-8042336.html
  3. 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
  4. Petaloconchus - Mindat.Org, www.mindat.org/taxon-8042336.html. Accessed 11 Nov. 2023. https://www.mindat.org/taxon-8042336.html
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