Kingdom Animalia Scientific name Olivellidae Higher classification Olivoidea | Superfamily Olivoidea Phylum Mollusca Rank Family | |
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Similar Olivella, Molluscs, Olive snail, Gastropods, Clavatulidae | ||
Olivellidae, common name the "dwarf olives", are a family of small predatory sea snails with smooth, shiny, elongated oval-shaped shells. The shells sometimes show muted but attractive colors, and may have some patterning.
Contents
These animals are marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Olivoidea, within the clade Neogastropoda according to the taxonomy of Bouchet and Rocroi.
Taxonomy
This group was previously placed within the family Olividae, the olives. According to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi (2005) the family Olivellidae has no subfamilies.
Distribution
Olivella snails are found worldwide, in subtropical and tropical seas and oceans.
Habitat and habit
These snails are found on sandy substrates intertidally and subtidally. These snails are all carnivorous sand-burrowers.
Shell description
The shells are basically oval and cylindrical in shape. They have a well-developed stepped spire. Olivella 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.
The fossil record
Olive shells first appeared during the Campanian.