Fusinus colus

Fusinus colus, common name the Distaff spindle or Long-tailed Spindle, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Fasciolariidae, the spindle snails, the tulip snails and their allies.^[1]

Fusinus colus
Five views of a shell of Fusinus colus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Family:	Fasciolariidae
Genus:	Fusinus
Species:	F. colus
Binomial name
Fusinus colus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms[1]
Buccinum toreuma Martyn, 1784 Colus boardmani Iredale, 1930 Colus longicauda (Lamarck, 1801) Fusinus longicauda (Lamarck, 1801) Fusinus toreuma (Martyn, 1784) Fusus colus (Linnaeus, 1758) Fusus longicauda Lamarck, 1801 Fusus longirostris Schumacher, 1817 Fusus toreuma Deshayes, 1843 Fusus tuberculatus Lamarck, 1822 Murex colus Linnaeus, 1758

Distribution

This species is present in the Indian Ocean and in the western and central Pacific Ocean, from East Africa to Melanesia, southern Japan, and southern Queensland.^[2][3][4]

Habitat

These sea snails are common in coastal waters at depths of 5 to 40 m. They inhabit littoral and the tidal zone and prefer sandy bottoms. They feed on benthic invertebrates.

Description

The size of an adult shell can reach 75–200 millimetres (3.0–7.9 in).^[2] These shells are thick, long, biconic, spindle-shaped, with many spiral ribs, grooves and nodules. The spire is elongated. The siphonal canal is very long. The outer surface is usually whitish, but may be yellowish, brown or reddish in color.

Shell of Fusinus colus