Wentletrap

A marine gastropod in the family Epitoniidae, typically recognized by a slender shell with prominent raised ribs winding around it. Many species live near sea anemones and corals.

Connect

Epitoniidae: A family of marine gastropods commonly called wentletraps, many of which feed on cnidarians. Wentletraps are members of this family, whose name anchors their classification.
Epitonium scalare: A wentletrap species known for its tall, white shell with strongly elevated axial ribs. This widely recognized species exemplifies the family's ribbed shell form.
Cerithiidae: A family of marine gastropods with typically elongated, often ornamented shells and a broad range of habitats. Cerithiid shells may look similarly slender, but their family relationships and feeding ecology differ.
Carl Linnaeus: A Swedish naturalist who established binomial nomenclature and a hierarchical system for classifying organisms. Linnaeus named several early species now placed among wentletraps.
Gastropoda: A large class of mollusks that includes snails and slugs, characterized by a muscular foot and a distinct head. Wentletraps are marine gastropods, sharing the class's basic body plan.
Sea anemone: A predatory marine animal in the class Anthozoa, with a column-shaped body and a ring of tentacles. Many wentletraps live with sea anemones and feed on their tissues or mucus.
Turritellidae: A family of marine gastropods with tall, many-whorled shells, often found buried in sediment. Turritellids also have high-spired shells, but their ribbing and lifestyle differ from wentletraps.
Conchology: The study and collecting of mollusk shells, historically a major part of natural history. Wentletraps' conspicuous shells made them subjects of conchological study and collecting.
Mollusca: A major animal phylum that includes snails, clams, cephalopods, and other soft-bodied animals. The molluscan body plan underlies the snail's shell and soft body.
Coral: A marine cnidarian, often colonial, that secretes a supporting skeleton in reef-building species. Some wentletraps associate with corals, extending their ecological range beyond anemone hosts.