Taxonomy of marine gastropod shells found in San Esteban, Ilocos Sur

• Main Author: Lacorte, Irvin M.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 1997
• Subjects: Gastropoda > Research; Shells > Ilocos Sur; Marine biology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/1447
• Institution: De La Salle University

A taxonomic study of marine gastropod shells found in San Esteban, Ilocos Sur was conducted in April and November 1996. The collection of shells was done along the shore and the intertidal area up to fifteen feet deep. The collection site has a sandy, coralline substratum. A total of twenty-nine species of gastropod shells were collected and classified under one subclass, four orders, two suborders, ten superfamilies, fifteen families, and seventeen genera. The most represented genera were Cypraea having eight species and Conus having six species. Three species of Conus are poisonous according to Mr. Jaime Cabrera of the National Museum (personal communication). These are Conus virgo, Conus capitaneus and Conus rattus. The live specimen collected were Cypraea annulus, Cypraea caputserpentis, Ovula ovum, Cassis cornuta, Vasum turbinellum, Conus virgo, and Terebra maculata.