Dr. Rick Stuart-Smith, Reef Life Survey, Australien
Info
Turbo militaris Reeve, 1848
A shell snail from the family Turbinidae, called turban snails. They have a solid, spherical to gyroscope-shaped, thick-walled housing. The inside is mother of pearl. They occupy a calcareous operculum to close the shell opening.
Turbo militaris is a fairly large piebald endemic to Australia and Tasmania that feeds purely on a herbivorous diet. A look at the snails' shells immediately shows that the shells look very different and one can definitely get the impression that they could be different animals. This different structure of the shells motivated some scientists to investigate this fact in more detail (Variation in the external morphology of Turbo militaris (Reeve 1848)). The link to the study is provided below.
Some specimens are completely smooth, some show beginning to well-developed spines on the body whorl. Both forms can occur together in the same habitat.
The snail is quite commonly observed in shallow rocky reef areas on the coast in shallow water areas.
There is currently no aquarium keeping experience with Turbo militaris.
Synonym: Turbo (Dinassovica) militaris (Reeve, 1848)
A shell snail from the family Turbinidae, called turban snails. They have a solid, spherical to gyroscope-shaped, thick-walled housing. The inside is mother of pearl. They occupy a calcareous operculum to close the shell opening.
Turbo militaris is a fairly large piebald endemic to Australia and Tasmania that feeds purely on a herbivorous diet. A look at the snails' shells immediately shows that the shells look very different and one can definitely get the impression that they could be different animals. This different structure of the shells motivated some scientists to investigate this fact in more detail (Variation in the external morphology of Turbo militaris (Reeve 1848)). The link to the study is provided below.
Some specimens are completely smooth, some show beginning to well-developed spines on the body whorl. Both forms can occur together in the same habitat.
The snail is quite commonly observed in shallow rocky reef areas on the coast in shallow water areas.
There is currently no aquarium keeping experience with Turbo militaris.
Synonym: Turbo (Dinassovica) militaris (Reeve, 1848)
