Monoplex parthenopeus,, CLEMAM, accessed 18 February 2011. the giant triton or giant hairy triton, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cymatiidae. It preys on other molluscs.

Fossil records This species have been recorded as fossils from the Miocene to the Quaternary (from 15.97 to 0.0 million years ago). Fossilworks

Distribution This species occurs worldwide including: The Western Atlantic Ocean"Cymatium parthenopeum (von Salis, 1793)". Malacolog Version 4.1.1. A Database of Western Atlantic Marine Mollusca. accessed 17 February 2011. New ZealandPowell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979

Description The maximum recorded shell length is 180 mm.Welch J. J. (2010). "The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". PLOS One 5(1): e8776. .

Habitat Trawled 40–60 m. off Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.

Minimum recorded depth is 0 m. Maximum recorded depth is 75 m.

Life cycle Hairy tritons are notable for having particularly long planktonic periods. The veliger larvae remain in the plankton for nearly 300 days, dispersing as far as 4000 km.Scheltema, R. S. 1971. Larval dispersal as a means of genetic exchange between geographically separated populations of shoalwater benthic marine gastropods. Biological Bulletin 140:284–322. This is the longest known larval duration and dispersal distance of any marine invertebrate which occurs along the west coast of North America.AL Shanks, BA Grantham, MH Carr (2003) Propagule dispersal distance and the size and spacing of marine reserves. Ecological Applications, 13, S159-S169.

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References

Salis Marschlins C. U. von (1793). Reisen in verschieden Provinzen den Königreischs Neapel. Zurich and Leipzig, Ziegler Vol. I: pp. 442 + 10 pl. Beu, A. G. (1970). The Mollusca of the subgenus Monoplex (family Cymatiidae). Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Biological Sciences 11 (17): 225-237 Morton B. & Morton JE. (1983). The sea shore ecology of Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press Gofas, S.; Afonso, J.P.; Brandào, M. (Ed.). (S.a.). Conchas e Moluscos de Angola = Coquillages et Mollusques d'Angola. [Shells and molluscs of Angola]. Universidade Agostinho / Elf Aquitaine Angola: Angola. 140 pp Gofas, S.; Le Renard, J.; Bouchet, P. (2001). Mollusca, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 180–213 Rolán E., 2005. Malacological Fauna From The Cape Verde Archipelago. Part 1, Polyplacophora and Gastropoda. Rosenberg, G., F. Moretzsohn, and E. F. García. 2009. Gastropoda (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 579–699 in Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas. Beu A.G. 2010 [August]. Neogene tonnoidean gastropods of tropical and South America: contributions to the Dominican Republic and Panama Paleontology Projects and uplift of the Central American Isthmus. Bulletins of American Paleontology 377-378: 550 pp, 79 pls.

External links

Pilsbry, H. A. (1945). New Floridian marine mollusks. The Nautilus. 59(2): 59-60 Perry, G. (1811). Conchology, or the natural history of shells: containing a new arrangement of the genera and species, illustrated by coloured engravings executed from the natural specimens, and including the latest discoveries. 4 pp., 61 plates. London Born, I. Von. (1778). Index rerum naturalium Musei Cæsarei Vindobonensis. Pars I.ma. Testacea. Verzeichniß der natürlichen Seltenheiten des k. k. Naturalien Cabinets zu Wien. Erster Theil. Schalthiere; Vindobonae (Vienna); (Kraus) Risso, A. (1826-1827). Histoire naturelle des principales productions de l'Europe Méridionale et particulièrement de celles des environs de Nice et des Alpes Maritimes. Paris, F.G. Levrault. 3(XVI): 1-480, 14 pls. Hutton, F. W. (1873). Catalogue of the marine Mollusca of New Zealand with diagnoses of the species. Didsbury, Wellington. xx + 116 pp. Orbigny A. d'. (1841-1853). Mollusques. In: R. de la Sagra (ed.). Histoire physique, politique et naturelle de l'Ile de Cuba. Arthus Bertrand, Paris. Vol 1 Gould, A. A. (1849). Descriptions of new species of shells, brought home by the U. S. Exploring Expedition. Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History. 3: 83-85, 89-92, 106-108, 118-121 Gould, A. A. (1860). Descriptions of new shells collected by the United States North Pacific Exploring Expedition. Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History. 7: 323-336 Smith, E. A. (1890). Report on the marine molluscan fauna of the island of St. Helena. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. (1890): 247-317, pls 21-24 Bellardi, L. (1873). I molluschi dei terreni terziarii del Piemonte e della Liguria. Parte I. Cephalopoda, Pteropoda, Heteropoda. Gasteropoda (Muricidae et Tritonidae). Stamperia Reale, Torino, 264 pp., 15 pl. Drawing of the shell