Crepidula convexa

Convex slippersnail- Crepidula convexa

Habitat Lives offshore, sometimes found washed up on beaches.

Range From Massachusetts to Texas.

Description Cap-shaped shell with a strong arch, prominent apex and an oval base. Light tan-brownish exterior with specks of reddish brown. Lighter inside with a shelf as the slipper part.

Ecological Notes Crepidula convexa is a sequential hermaphrodite, that brood their young, and have free swimming larvae. They are also filter feeders.

Personal Information While we were walking on the beach at Pea Island we found shells of Crepidula convexa washed up on shore.

Similar Species Crepidula convexa has a larger arch compared to Crepidula fornicata; so the shell appears flatter compared to the Crepidula convexa, convex slipper shell.

Journal Articles To learn more information about Crepidula convexa, please see:

Li, W; Pechenik, JA. (2004). A forced association between the slippersnail Crepidula convexa and the hermit crab Pagurus longicarpus? - possible influence from a third party; JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL MARINE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY 311(2).339-354

This article sheds light on the association with hermit crabs that live in limpet shells and Crepidula convexa that attach to the limpet shell (with the hermit crab inside not a live limpet).

Ambrogio, OV; Pechenik, JA (2009) Do sex-changing male snails use mate choice to get a jump on their "size advantage"? MARINE BIOLOGY 156 (10)2173-2180

This article looks at the sequential hermaphroditic behavior of Crapidula spp. trying to find a correlation between female size and mating.

References Porter, Hugh and Houser, Lynn. Seashells of North Carolina. convex slippersnail pg. 105

Contributed by Wendy Dria - 2010

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