APHOTOMARINE

An educational resource dedicated mainly to the photography
and diversity of marine life that can be found in coastal waters
and intertidal areas of Great Britain and Ireland by David Fenwick.

A-P-H-O-T-O Wildlife Stock Image Library
Caecum trachea (Montagu, 1803) - Grooved blind shell (Marine snails)
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Grooved blind shell
Caecum trachea
- shell 1

Grooved blind shell
Caecum trachea
- with 0.1mm division rule 1

Grooved blind shell
Caecum trachea
- old mussel rope 1

The specimen above was found in washings taken from an old mussel rope that was on the bottom and got caught up grab during commercial sampling offshore in St. Austell Bay, Cornwall, 23.06.22. Thanks go to Greg Lingard and Mike Field of Ecospan Environmental Ltd. for allowing me to take samples from the rope. Old fishing gear can attract a multitude of small invertebrate species and as such by removing marine refuse like this and sampling from it we can best determine localized biodiversity with minimal damage to the environment.

Grooved blind shell
Caecum trachea
- shell 2

Grooved blind shell
Caecum trachea
- with 0.1mm division rule 2

Images taken of a 3.2mm specimen purchased from Guido T. Poppe - Philippe Poppe, Conchology, Inc.. 22.06.12.

Species recorded from around the south-west coastline. Specimen displayed here was collected in 5-10m of water, off Playa de Cabio, Rio de Arosa, Galicia, Spain. September 1977. The specimen from Spain was added before it was known that C. trachea and C. imperforatum were likely the same species.

Please note: WoRMS lists Caecum imperforatum (Kanmacher, 1798) as nomen dubium because it is thought the correct name for the species is Caecum trachea (Montagu, 1803). Caecum imperforatum (Kanmacher, 1798) still features on the NBN Atlas along with Caecum trachea (Montagu, 1803) but it is highly likely they are synonymous with each other.

Scientific and European Names:
Caecum trachea, Brochus striatus, Brochus trachiformis, Caecum elagans, Caecum fasciatum, Dentalium imperforatum, Odontidium rugulosum.

Scientific and Common Names used are largely gained from from the WoRMS Database.

See Caecum imperforatum (Kanmacher, 1798).

Caecum trachea Montagus blind shell marine snail images
The main objective of this website is in furthering environmental awareness and education through the medium of photography. To increase awareness and access to the wildlife of the region and help
people find and identify it. Sometimes the difference between species is obvious but many species can only be determined by observing microscopic characteristics that are specific to any one species.