Naticidae
Naticidae, common name moon snails or necklace shells, is a family of medium to large-sized predatory sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Littorinimorpha. The shells of the species in this family are mostly globular in shape.
It has been estimated that worldwide there are about 260–270 recent species of naticid snails.[1] This group is assumed to have originated in the late Triassic or in the early Jurassic.[1] Members of this family can be recognized by the shape of their shells, distinct appearance, or by their predatory behavior.[1]
Naticids are widely distributed and occur worldwide. The greatest diversity of both species and genera is found in tropical regions. Even so, naticid snails are also plentiful in temperate, Arctic and Antarctic waters.[1]
Moon snails live on sandy substrates, at a great variety of depths depending on the species (from the intertidal zone to thousands of meters in depth).[1] They are often seen ploughing along in the sand, searching for bivalvic and other prey, resulting in countersunk bore-holes.
Naticids are predatory, feeding mostly on bivalves. They will also attack almost any other shelled mollusk they encounter in the sand, such as scaphopods and other gastropods, including other moon snails.[1] Additionally, Conuber sordidum was shown to prey on the soldier crab Mictyris longicarpus (Crustacea) by drilling predation.[2][3] To catch soldier crabs, C. sordidum uses the same behaviour as when hunting shelled molluscan prey.[3]
The moon snail envelops the prey and then bores a hole through the shell using its radula and an acid secretion. Once the shell is bored open, the proboscis is used to consume the flesh of the prey. The hole in the shell, which has a "countersunk" appearance with chamfered edges, and which varies in size according to the species, is a characteristic diagnostic sign of moon snail predation.
