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Additional Photos
detail
young
shell
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Cuvierina columnella (Rang, 1827)
Maximum size: 8 mm shell
length.
Identification:
This species has a cylindrical, transparent-white shell with a
flattened aperture and blunt apex.
Natural history:
Fragments of Cuvierina columnella
shells are moderately rare in sand samples. Live animals are
occasionally seen at night in near-shore waters. As in many other
cavolinids, the conical juvenile shell is usually lost as the animal
matures.
Distribution:
Big Island, Maui, Oahu and Niihau: widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific.
Taxonomic notes:
The photo labeled Creseis sp.
in Kay, 1979 is this species. Most Hawaiian material seems closest to Cuvierina tsudai,
Burridge, Janssen & Peijnenburg, 2016 as illustrated in Jansen, et.
al., 2019. However, photos of other shells held at CAS (from the
Vanderbilt Pacific Equatorial Expedition of 1951) and fragmentary shells
from beach drift/sand samples create some ambiguity in interpreting the
characteristics of "longitudinal microornament" and aperture shape. So, we're leaving it as C. columnella, pending further input.
Photo: Doug Perrine: off the Kona Coast, Big Island; 6-12 m (20-40 ft); at night; Dec. 4, 2017.
Observations and comments:
Note
1: ( )
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