Preliminary Studies on the Snails that Bore the Valves of Young Bivalve, Tapes philippinarum

Tapes philippinarum 의 치매에 천공하는 동물에 관하여(예보)

The present observations on the perforation bored into young bivalve Tapes philippinarum (less than 2 mm in shell length) by boring snails were conducted at Sunjae Island in 1960 and Inchon Harbor inn 1962. 1. Young bivalves of the species which were left with bored in them were found both in Inchon Harbor and Sunjae Island. 2. The location of the holes in the valves of the young bivalve varied widely, while the holes of the adult bivalve were located at relatively definite position in the valves. 3. The author realized that the holes are bored by a species of snails that have radulas, for the inner diameters of the holes were much smaller than the router diameters. 4. The size of the holes in the valves of young bivalve was much smaller than those holes bored in adult valves. The minimum size of the holes was only 7.5microns in diameter. 5. The author considered that the boring snail is Natica severa that is found abundantly in Inchon Harbor and Sunjae Island and that this snail is the only species found in the particular areas and performs the above mentioned behavior. However, the author could not confirm experimentally the snail drilling young bivalve of Tapes philippinarum .