Urosalpinx cinerea 
System : Marine
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Animalia
Mollusca
Gastropoda
Neogastropoda
Muricidae
- General
- Distribution
- Impact
- Management
- Bibliography
- Contact
Common name
Synonym
Similar species
Summary
Urosalpinx cinerea (the Atlantic oyster drill) is native to the North American Atlantic coast. It has invaded a few bays in the North American Pacific, southern Great Britain and recently the Netherlands via commercial oyster transfers. Urosalpinx cinerea predation on oyster spat, inflicting up to 50% and higher mortality rates, renders it a serious pest to the oyster industry.
Species Description
The Atlantic oyster drill (Urosalpinx cinerea) is a snail that typically grows up to 25 mm high and 15 mm wide, and may reach up to 35 mm high. It has a 5-6 whorled, fusiform shell with 9-12 strong vertical ridges per whorl. The shells may be yellow, gray, white, brown or orange. It has a short siphonal canal, producing a pear-shaped aperture. Its flesh is gray, yellow, reddish-brown, or purple. The operculum is usually orange or light brown (Cohen, 2005; Williams, 2002).
Lifecycle Stages
Deposited embryos are nourished by albumin within the egg for 6-8 weeks. Cleavage is unequal and spiral with large polar lobes. The hatching embryo produces an enzyme that dissolves its protective sac. The emergent snails are well developed and feed on bryozoans, barnacles, and other snails. They reach maturity after about 2 years and live for up to 8 years (Cohen, 2005; Williams, 2002).
Habitat Description
The Atlantic oyster drill (Urosalpinx cinerea) inhabits intertidal and shallow subtidal waters in estuaries, marshes, and bays. It usually resides on rocks or oyster reefs and may be found in depths up to 15 m. It can live in salinities of 13-15 ppt but prefers higher salinities (Cohen, 2005; Williams, 2002).
Reproduction
Oviparous. Sexual. Urosalpinx cinerea breeds in the spring and summer when waters first stay above 20° C for over a week. Eggs are fertilized and females attach 20-40 translucent, vase-shaped egg capsules to a suitable substrate. Each egg capsule contains 5-12 eggs (Cohen, 2005; Williams, 2002).
Nutrition
Urosalpinx cinerea feeds on oysters, mussels, other molluscs, and barnacles. It feeds on different primary prey species in different locations. In its native range, the Atlantic Coast of North America, it prefers mussels, in the San Francisco Bay it appears to feed mainly on barnacles, and in Britain it preys on mostly oysters and barnacles. U. cinerea crawls along ocean floors and oyster beds searching for prey. It uses its foot to grip the shell of its prey and exudes a glandular secretion which softens it. U. cinerea then uses its radula to drill a hole in the shell. It extends its probiscis through this hole to feed on the tissue inside. A minimum temperature of 9-10° C is required for U. cinerea to feed (Cohen, 2005; Williams, 2002; Hancock, 1954).
Principal source:
Cohen, A.N. 2005. Urosalpinx cinerea (Say, 1822) Guide to the Exotic Species of San Francisco Bay. San Francisco Estuary Institute, Oakland, .
Hancock, D.A. 1954. The destruction of oyster spat by Urosalpinx cinerea (Say) on Essex Oyster Beds. Fisheries Laboratory, Burnham-on-Crouch.
Compiler: National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) & IUCN/SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG)
Review: Andrew N. Cohen, Center for Research on Aquatic Bioinvasions (CRAB)
Publication date: 2008-05-22
Recommended citation: Global Invasive Species Database (2024) Species profile: Urosalpinx cinerea. Downloaded from http://www.iucngisd.org/gisd/species.php?sc=1383 on 19-04-2024.
General Impacts
The Atlantic oyster drill (Urosalpinx cinerea) is a major pest to the commercial oyster industry. The oyster drill may pose a threat to oyster native populations and cultures wherever they exist. U. cinerea are especially harmful to oyster spat and are known to commonly inflict 50% mortality in Britain and 60-70% in its native range. U. cinerea also affect native ecology and community structures. They prey on native oysters, such as the Olympia oyster (Ostrea lurida) in Washington, and compete with native molluscs such as the dog whelk (Nucella lapillus) in the Netherlands and the California marine snail (Acanthinucella spirata) in California (Hancock, 1954; Frasse, 2007; Buhle, 2003; Alford, 1975; Eno, 1996; Travis, undated).
Management Info
Preventative measures: Introductions and transfers of oysters from locations where Urosalpinx cinerea occurs should be avoided altogether to prevent new invasions since even careful inspection may not reveal young and small specimens within shell crevices (Hancock, 1954).\r\n
Cultural: Bounties rewarding the public for bucketloads of U. cinerea were instated in Essex (P. French, pers. comm. In Eno et al., 1997) although there are no reports on its success. \r\n\r\n
Physical: Tile traps have successfully been employed to control U. cinerea in Britain (Hancock, 1959 in Hancock, 1960). Tile traps use roofing tiles to take advantage of the fact that U. cinerea move on to the shore during summer and require an elevated shaded position to deposit its spawn. Hancock (1960) reports that tile traps have caused substantially reduction of U. cinerea in some areas. Handpicking and systematic removal of U. cinerea during normal dredging is recommended, but is fairly inefficient (JNCC, undated; Hancock, 1954). \r\n
Chemical: U. cinerea is especially susceptible to imposex from tributyl tin (TBT), an antifouling toxin. Imposex is a condition in which female gastropods develop male reproductive organs resulting in infertility. A widespread example of imposex occurred in Britain in the 1970's and resulted in the dramatic reduction of U. cinerea. However, TBT is a harmful toxin that causes imposex in native molluscs and has been banned in some countries (McEnnulty, 2001; Fraasse, 2007; Gibbs, 1991), and even where it is not banned it is probably not advisable to apply it for U. cinerea control.
