Opeatostoma pseudodon

Opeatostoma pseudodon, common name the thorn latirus or banded tooth latirus or red footed conch, is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Fasciolariidae, the tulip snails and spindle snails.^[1][2]

Opeatostoma pseudodon
A shell of Opeatostoma pseudodon.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Family:	Fasciolariidae
Genus:	Opeatostoma
Species:	O. pseudodon
Binomial name
Opeatostoma pseudodon (Burrow, 1815)
Synonyms[1]
Buccinum pseudodon Burrow, 1815 Monoceros cingulatum Lamarck, 1816

Distribution

This species is found on the tropical west coast of North America: in Southern Baja California, from Mexico to Peru, and in the Galápagos.^[3][4][5]

A shell of Opeatostoma pseudodon

Description

Shells of Opeatostoma pseudodon can reach a length of about 29–75 millimetres (1.1–3.0 in).^[3] The shells are white or brown with thin brown or black stripes. The body of the snail is reddish. This species has the longest apertural tooth developed by any gastropod. By means of this long spine or thorn (hence the common name) which grows from the tip of the snail's aperture, they anchor themselves in the sandy and coral rubble substrate.^[6]

Behavior

These snails live under rocks, usually partially buried in coral sand. They are active nocturnally. They mainly feed on small worms^[6] and on other gastropods.^[7]