Calliostoma
22 species
Calliostoma is a genus of small to medium-sized sea snails with gills and an operculum, marine gastropod molluscs within the family Calliostomatidae, the Calliostoma top snails (according to the taxonomy of Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi (2005)). Previously this genus was placed within the family Trochidae. Calliostoma is the type genus of the family Calliostomatidae.
The name of this genus is derived from the Greek words kallos (beautiful) and stoma (mouth), referring to the pearly aperture of the shell. The genus Calliostoma is known in fossil records from the Upper Cretaceous onwards.
The distribution of this genus is worldwide, found mainly on hard substrates, although Japanese species have been found on sandy bottoms. These snails occur from shallow waters to bathyal depths.
The species in this genus are mainly herbivorous or feed on detritus, although a few have been observed to be omnivorous (Keen, 1975) or even carnivorous, feeding on a wide range of algae and on animals belonging to various other invertebrate phyla. The North Atlantic topshell Calliostoma occidentale has been reported to feed on coelenterates.
Contrary to what is the case in most other top shells, Calliostoma deposits its eggs in gelatinous ribbons that are only fertilized after being deposited. The young emerge as small snails (Lebour, 1936) without passing through a free-living planktonic stage as a veliger larva.
Calliostoma is a genus of small to medium-sized sea snails with gills and an operculum, marine gastropod molluscs within the family Calliostomatidae, the Calliostoma top snails (according to the taxonomy of Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi (2005)). Previously this genus was placed within the family Trochidae. Calliostoma is the type genus of the family Calliostomatidae.
The name of this genus is derived from the Greek words kallos (beautiful) and stoma (mouth), referring to the pearly aperture of the shell. The genus Calliostoma is known in fossil records from the Upper Cretaceous onwards.
The distribution of this genus is worldwide, found mainly on hard substrates, although Japanese species have been found on sandy bottoms. These snails occur from shallow waters to bathyal depths.
The species in this genus are mainly herbivorous or feed on detritus, although a few have been observed to be omnivorous (Keen, 1975) or even carnivorous, feeding on a wide range of algae and on animals belonging to various other invertebrate phyla. The North Atlantic topshell Calliostoma occidentale has been reported to feed on coelenterates.
Contrary to what is the case in most other top shells, Calliostoma deposits its eggs in gelatinous ribbons that are only fertilized after being deposited. The young emerge as small snails (Lebour, 1936) without passing through a free-living planktonic stage as a veliger larva.
