About Nucella squamosa (Lamarck, 1816)
Nucella squamosa, commonly known as the scaly dogwhelk, is a small brown whelk. Its shell has many fine, knobbly spiral ridges, and the species grows to a maximum total length of 5 cm. The shell ridges are often not visible, because the whelk is usually overgrown by a high-spined commensal hydroid, Hydtractinia altispina, which is orange and has a prickly appearance.
This marine snail occurs along the southern African coast, ranging from central Namibia to Port St Johns. It lives in subtidal zones down to 50 meters below the water surface. For its ecology, the scaly dogwhelk lays its eggs in small groups of capsules that look like stalked clubs. The associated commensal hydroid acts to deter several of the snail's predators.
