Cominella glandiformis

Cominella glandiformis, or the mud whelk or mud-flat whelk is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Buccinidae, the true whelks.

Distribution

Habitat

Shell description

The shell is small, ovate, and fairly solid, with a wide smooth concave shoulder slope, and an axially costate to nodulous periphary. Cominella glandiformis has an acute sense of smell, being able to detect food up to 10 metres away, even when the tide is out.

The shell coloration is buff to greenish-grey, often broadly zoned from the periphery downwards, or with several narrow bands, in purplish-brown. The interior of the aperture is similarly coloured. Usually the surface is badly eroded and stained green with algae.

The shell height is up to 25 mm, and width 13 mm.

References

• Powell A W B, New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
• Glen Pownall, New Zealand Shells and Shellfish, Seven Seas Publishing Pty Ltd, Wellington, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 85467 054 8
• Miller M & Batt G, Reef and Beach Life of New Zealand, William Collins (New Zealand) Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1973
• Morley, M. S., Photographic Guide to Seashells of New Zealand, New Holland Publishers (NZ) Ltd, 2004 ISBN 1-86966-044-7