Baler shell (species: Melo amphora) in taxonomy (Lizard Island Field Guide)
Animalia > Mollusca > Gastropoda > Caenogastropoda > Neogastropoda > Muricoidea > Volutidae > Amoriinae > Melonini > Melo > Melo amphora (gallery)
Melo amphora
Baler shell


©Johanna Werminghausen: Melo amphora at Lizard Island.

©barbarabanks: Melo amphora laying egg mass on reef flat at Low Isles, Qld.

©Barbara Banks: Melo amphoraabout 20 cm long at Watson's Beach, Lizard Island

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Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Mollusca
Class Gastropoda
Order Neogastropoda
Family Volutidae
Genus Melo
Species Melo amphora

Lizard Island Field Guide
Lizard Island area: all known taxa

Colours

                   

Distinguishing features

Distinguishing features still need to be specified.

Size

  • Up to 40 cm (shell length at Lizard Island)

Synonyms

Comments

Wilson (1994) considered Melo georginae to be a synonym of Melo amphora. However, the former name is accepted by WORMS and Atlas of Living Australia lists all the records of M. amphora from LIFG as M. georginae (both sites accessed 2 Nov 2019). There is clearly something going on with the taxonomy of Melo that needs to be checked for LIFG.

by Anne Hoggett

Distribution


©Atlas of Living Australia: Australian distribution

Web resources

References

References that assist with identification

  • Morrison, H. and F.E. Wells (2005). A new species of Melo (Gastropoda: Volutidae) from northwestern Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, 22: 343-351. LIRS catalog number 90287.
  • Wilson, B. (1993). Australian Marine Shells: 1. Prosobranch gastropods Odyssey Publishing, Kallaroo, Western Australia.