Conuber sordidum

Conuber sordidum (originally described as Natica sordida by Swainson) is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk family Naticidae, the moon snails.^[1][2]

Conuber sordidum
Shell of Conuber sordidum (holotype at MNHN, Paris)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Littorinimorpha
Family:	Naticidae
Genus:	Conuber
Species:	C. sordidum
Binomial name
Conuber sordidum (Swainson, 1821)
Synonyms
Conuber sordidus (Swainson, 1821) Natica leucophaea Reeve, 1855 Natica microstoma Quoy & Gaimard, 1833 Natica sordida Swainson, 1821 Natica strangei Reeve, 1855 Polinices sordidus (Swainson, 1821)

Distribution

East coast of Australia, from Victoria to Queensland. The species also occurs off Tasmania and New Zealand.^[3]

Life habits

Conuber sordidum is predatory, feeding mostly on bivalves and gastropods.^[4] The species is also known to prey on the soldier crab Mictyris longicarpus by drilling predation.^[5][6] To catch soldier crabs, C. sordidum uses the same stereotyped behaviour as previously described for moon snails hunting shelled molluscan prey.^[6]

Habitat

On intertidal muddy sand flats near mangroves or sea weed.^[3]