The shells often show various muted but attractive colors, and may be patterned also. They are
marinegastropodmolluscs in the
familyOlividae within the main clade
Neogastropoda.
Taxonomy
According to the Revised Classification, Nomenclator and Typification of Gastropod Families (2017)[2] the family Olividae consists of five subfamilies:[3]
Olivinae Latreille, 1825 – synonyms: Dactylidae H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853 (inv.);
Olive snails are found worldwide, in subtropical and
tropical seas and oceans.
Habitat
These snails are found on sandy
substrates intertidally and subtidally.
Life habits
The olive snails are all
carnivorous sand-burrowers. They feed mostly on
bivalves and
carrion and are known as some of the fastest burrowers among snails. They secrete a mucus similar to that of the
Muricidae, from which a purple dye can be made.
Shell description
Physically the shells are oval and
cylindrical in shape. They have a well-developed stepped
spire. Olive shells have a siphonal notch at the posterior end of the long narrow
aperture. The siphon of the living animal protrudes from the siphon notch.
The shell surface is extremely glossy because in life the
mantle almost always covers the shell.[4][5]
The fossil record
Olive shells first appeared during the
Campanian.[6]
Human use
Olive shells are popular with
shell collectors, and are also often made into jewelry and other decorative items.
^Vermeij, Geerat J (1 September 1993). Evolution and Escalation. Princeton University Press.
ISBN0-691-00080-8. p.182.
^Charles L. Powell II, Fred Vervaet and David Berschauer, A taxonomic review of California Holocene Callianax (Olivellidae. Gastropoda. Mollusca) based on shell characters; The Festivus March 2020, special issue
Further reading
Hunon Ch., Hoarau A. & Robin A. (2009). Olividae (Mollusca, Gastropoda).