- Source: Dendropoma gregarium
Dendropoma gregarium is a worm snail common in intertidal and subtidal areas in Hawaiʻi and the tropical Pacific.
Description
The Dendropoma gregarium is a worm snail in the family Vermetidae. It is identifiable by its brown shell that forms in irregular coils around its body, making it resemble a worm.
Distribution
D. gregarium is found in Hawaii and the Tropical Eastern Pacific. In Hawaiian it is known as kio pōhakupele or kio po'apo'ai.
Habitat
D. gregarium inhabit the intertidal and subtidal zone. All worm snails are sessile, they attach to rocks or hard surfaces where they will remain for their entire lives. While on these rocks they often look like small black holes.
References
Further reading
Golding, R. E.; Bieler, R.; Rawlings, T. A.; Collins, T. M. (2014). "Deconstructing Dendropoma: a systematic revision of a world-wide worm-snail group with descriptions of new genera (Caenogastropoda: Vermetidae)". Malacologia. 57 (1): 1–97. doi:10.4002/040.057.0103.
Hadfield, M. G.; Kay, E. A.; Gillette, M.U.; Lloyd, M.C. (1972). "The Vermetidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of the Hawaiian Islands". Marine Biology. 12 (1): 81–98. Bibcode:1972MarBi..12...81H. doi:10.1007/BF00347431.
Bieler, R.; Petit, R. E. (2011). "Catalogue of Recent and fossil "worm-snail" taxa of the families Vermetidae, Siliquariidae, and Turritellidae (Mollusca: Caenogastropoda)" (PDF). Zootaxa. 2948: 1–103. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2948.1.1.
