Snail ID

[gsbrawley65]

Can anyone help me ID this snail? Thank you.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

@ISpeakForTheSeas

 

[kevgib67]

Some sort of a whelk but looking at it’s siphon it doesn’t appear to be a predator one.

 

[snowreefs]

i cant be sure but it's look like cerith snail? if it's cerith snail, we can say clean up crew

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

@ISpeakForTheSeas

My first thought would be a Muricid/Murex Snail from either the Ergalataxinae or the Rapaninae subfamilies, as a lot of them look quite similar to this superficially; I would lean towards Ergalataxinae, as the Rapanine "whelks" (these aren't true whelks) are generally less elongated and/or spikier in the shells (the ones that look similar to this - such as some Drupa species - are generally quite squat/globular or spiked - such as some Reishia, Thais, and Tylothais species [the "Thaidid" species]).

For examples, I would look at some species from the genera Claremontiella, Ergalatax, Morula, Lauta (Lauta parva; it's monotypic), Drupella, Tenguella, etc.

If it's either an Ergalataxine or a Rapanine snail, it's definitely not reef-safe, as these are generally predatory towards other molluscs with some (including Drupa and Drupella species, for example) known to eat corals:

Depending on the species, Rapanine whelks may eat worms, snails, bivalves, small crustaceans, and reportedly sometimes small fish; snails, bivalves, and worms are the more common prey.

If they are one of those two, they are murex snails (family Muricidae), so while not true whelks, they are predatory, most likely against other snails and bivalves (clams, oysters, scallops, etc.). As mentioned, they may also eat worms. Some closely related species also eat corals

Either way, these would be cool sump snails, but they will likely eat your CUC if kept in your display.

 

[gsbrawley65]

Thanks, everyone. I removed the snail to be safe.