Morphological and ecological adaptation of limpet-shaped top shells (Gastropoda: Trochidae: Fossarininae) to wave-swept rock reef habitats

Abstract

Flattening of coiled shells has occurred in several gastropod lineages, while the evolutionary process of shell flattening is little known. The subfamily Fossarininae of the top shell family (Trochidae) is unique, because it includes four genera at various stages of shell flattening. Broderipia and Roya, have zygomorphic shells that has lost coiling, while the sister genera, Fossarina and Synaptocochlea, have respectively turbiniform and auriform shells. Therefore, comparisons of biology, habitats and detailed morphology among these four genera may help us to detect selection pressure driving shell flattening and loss of coiling. Although Broderipia has recently been identified as living symbiotically in the pits of sea urchins, the habitats and biology of the other three Fossarininae species, especially Roya are poorly known. After an extensive search on rocky shores of the Japanese Archipelago, we found live Roya eximia snails on intertidal/subtidal rock surfaces exposed to strong waves. Roya snails crept on the bare rock surface to graze periphyton at low tide, and fled into vacant barnacle shells at high tide. Comparison of the morphology of soft bodies in Fossarininae revealed that the columellar muscle of flattened species has been drastically elongated and arranged in posterior semi-outer edge of the flattened shell as observed in true limpets. The flattering and loss of coiling of the shell in Roya caused acquisition of a zygomorphic flat body, retraction of coiled visceral mass, and expansion of the foot sole. All of these changes improved tolerance against strong waves and the ability to cling to rock surfaces, and thus enabled a lifestyle utilizing both wave-swept rock surfaces and the inside of vacant barnacle shells.