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Neverita duplicata (Say, 1822) Drill Holes |
| Neverita duplicata [Shark Eye] is one of the few marine gastropods found in northeast Florida which drills its prey to obtain a meal and evidence of its handiwork can be found on any beach. Most of the Neverita found intertidally are quite small (25-30 mm. or smaller) and feed on the ever-present Donax variabilis (Say, 1822) using this technique. While larger Neverita (50-70 mm.) are occasionally found intertidally, the adult specimens generally live in deeper water where larger more suitable prey reside such as those three common bivalve species illustrated below. In the case of Dosinia discus (B - 57 mm.) a drill hole was begun and apparently abandoned in favor of another nearby location which ultimately proved successful. The heavy thick shell of Noetia ponderosa (D - 58 mm.) obviously offers that species additional protection against a Neverita attack as is evidenced by two attempted drill holes which were ultimately abandoned. Interestingly, it's not unprecedented to find Neverita duplicata shells which also show evidence of being drilled which indicates the species is cannibalistic - at least under certain conditions. All illustrated specimens were found at Little Talbot Island State Park, Duval County, Florida. |
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