Conuber melastoma

Description

The species has a rounded, globose moon-snail shell that is usually partly covered by the expanded mantle and foot when the animal is active. The available authoritative results do not provide a sufficiently reliable description of the live animal’s colour pattern or diagnostic markings. Colour alone should not be used for identification of this species. Separating Conuber melastoma from similar species generally requires clear shell characters, including shell profile, spire, sculpture, aperture, umbilicus, and operculum. Taxonomic caution is advised as Natica sanguinolenta is listed as a name accepted under Conuber melastoma, and older guides may use that name.

Diet

The exact prey of Conuber melastoma is unknown, but it is likely to feed on shelled molluscs, particularly bivalves and other gastropods. The species feeds by burrowing through sediment to locate prey, holding prey with its muscular foot, drilling a round hole through the prey’s shell using its radula and shell-weakening secretions, and then inserting its proboscis through the hole to consume the soft tissues.