Amoria is a taxonomic genus of medium-sized predatory marine gastropod in the subfamily Amoriinae, belonging to the family Volutidae.[1]
Distribution
Amoria are found in onshore and offshore waters around the entire coast of Australia. Several species extend into offshore waters of southern Indonesia. The highest areas of diversity are in the intertidal and shallow subtidal waters of northern Western Australia followed by the subtidal waters around the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland.
Shell description
Amoria have a small, smooth, more or less pointed conical protoconch, a solid very glossy, fusiform shell and an elongate aperture with 4 distinct, more or less developed columellar plicae. The sutures are slightly callous. The colour pattern of the genus Amoria is variable, the base colour is white, yellow or pink with varying degrees or brown axial lines forming a pattern over the base colour. Axial lines may be free or may reticulate to form a tented pattern.[2]
The largest species Amoria hunteri reaches over 200 mm in length. The smallest species is probably Amoria dampieria frequently around 20 mm.
Biology
Amoria are nocturnal and prey on other gastropods and on bivalves. They generally inhabit areas with well sorted coarse sand. Some Amoria species have been noted to bite people when they are handled. The bite is followed by a mild sting, but no long-term effects have been noted.
Fossil history
The first Amoria appear in the Eocene and Late Miocene from Victoria. Judging from anatomical features, Amoria are close to the genus Cymbiola from which they descended in the Tertiary. Cymbiola are related to Tethyan species of the Late Miocene of Indonesia, Java.
Taxonomy
Amoria includes more than 70 species, synonyms included. The following species have been recognized:
^G.W. Tryon (1886), Manual of Conchology tome IV, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia
N.H. Ludbrook (1953), Systematic Revision of the Volutidid Genus Amoria, J. Mollus. Stud. 30 (4-5): 131-153.
Bail, P., Limpus, A. & Poppe, G. T. (2001): The Genus Amoria. In: Poppe, G. T. & Groh, K.: A Conchological Iconography. 50 pp., 93 plts. ConchBooks, Hackenheim, ISBN3-925919-46-5.
Wilson, B. (1994): Australian marine shells 2. Odyssey Publishing, Kallaroo, Western Australia, ISBN0-646-15227-0.
Bondarev, I.P. (1995). "A phylogenetic classification of the Australian Volutidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) with the description of a new subgenus and a new subfamily". La Conchiglia. 27 (276): 25–38.
